


Cubic Oblivion

by SteelChikorita



Category: Minecraft (Video Game)
Genre: Action, Adventure, Eventual Romance, Found Family, Gen, Original Character Death(s), Original Character(s), POV Alternating, POV Third Person, Ressurection??? Sorta ig you'll see, Tags will be added, all of them are idiots, author might be slow at updating, no beta readers we die like men, occasionally
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-05
Updated: 2021-01-03
Packaged: 2021-03-05 23:14:48
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 12
Words: 23,606
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25723417
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SteelChikorita/pseuds/SteelChikorita
Summary: All seems calm in the blocky, infinite rolling landscapes of Minecraft. At least, however calm that Alex and Steve can make it in a world full of devious mindless monsters ready to kill and maim. However, when they find a myserious relic of the past in the depths of a lake, they find their world in sudden turmoil as the two are thrust into the obligation to return the artifact in its rightful place and restore order. From old wounds reopened to unlikely friendships formed, Alex and Steve embark on a quest to save their world, before it's too late.
Relationships: Alex/Steve (Minecraft), Herobrine & Steve (Minecraft)
Comments: 5
Kudos: 26





	1. Dog In The Lake

"Come on Alex, you can't just say that to my face!"

Steve pouted, hugging one of his arms around the leather chestplate he wore and gripping the fishing rod in his other extra tight. He already didn't approve of getting dragged along on this midnight fishing trip with Alex, and now that he was getting laughed at for yesterday's... unfortunate incident, he was even more grouchy. He cast his line out into the water of the small mountain lake with barely-contained contempt in his purple eyes, watching as the red bobber sat idly on the inky, murky surface. He could see cod and salmon swimming in their small schools around the pond, though none really dared to go near his bobber and hook.

A series of ugly snorts and chuckles came from Alex as she sat there, doubled over and horrifically failing at composing herself. "Well, you should've-" She stopped to let out another bout of pained wheezes as she fought herself to get her words out. "You should've seen yourself when that creeper fell on you in the mineshaft! You were white as snow!" A sudden tug on her fishing rod made her sit up and reel in her catch, a small skin-and-bones cod which she stored into her inventory. Leaning back against the cool stone wall they had sat up against, she moved her bright orange hair out of her face with her free hand, staring off into the distance and zoning out for a few moments. 

"I was _not!_ " He immediately went in to deflect Alex's claim. Of course, he was scared of that creeper at the time, but no way in a million years would he admit it. Having it collapse on top of him from above, hearing the green beast hiss and narrowly escaping being blown apart into small bits, it was a frightening experience for even the most experienced of fighters. He could almost still feel the adrenaline shakes. "It was a small mistake, that's all. Besides, we got the iron we were looking for, right?"

"Of course. But, I can't help it! You're just not exactly the brightest torch in the village, you know," Alex elbowed her partner, before looking back out at the still, pitch black water.

Steve groaned, throwing his head back to stare at the sky with exasperation before tilting it down again. "Oh come on, i'm not _that _dumb," He himself knew he wasn't exactly the best at speaking and expressing himself, but he was a lot smarter then others, even Alex, would label him as. "Besides, i'm the one who killed most of the mobs down there when they cornered us." He caught a salmon in the middle of his sentence, and quickly stowed it away for later.__

__"Ok, I admit, I'm not the best at fighting. No need to rub that one in." Alex rolled her eyes. She admitted she wasn't the bravest when it came down to fighting the dangerous beasts that prowled the world at night, and she much preferred to build automatic farms and impressive builds in the safety of a field of torches rather than go out of her way to pick fights with monsters. Steve could sometimes be a pain to be around, but they both still got along quite well despite their differences._ _

__For a while, both of them fished in relative peace and quiet, occasionally exchanging small talk and showing off what they caught, but more so focusing on the catches they were reeling in. They were equally content to sit in the presence of each other, and enjoy the silence between them. Alex's mind began to wander off to think of unrelated things, while her eyes trailed up to follow the shambling path of a skeleton which had just spawned from the darkness of night where the torches did not reach._ _

__Then, a violent tug suddenly overwhelmed Alex's fishing rod. The stick bent, almost yanking itself out of her grasp before she caught it in time. She gripped it tightly, gasping as she quickly stood up and put all her weight into the effort of pulling whatever she had caught out of the water. "Uhp! I got a big one," She hissed through clenched teeth as she kept putting all her body strength into her task. Her heels caught into a crevice in the stone, letting her lean back absurdly far. Her muscles began to scream for relief, sweat shining on her forehead as whatever it was began to come up very very slowly from the bottom of the lake. Her grip was growing slippery and weak, she hoped she could keep her hold long enough to reel in whatever her hook had caught onto._ _

__"Reel it in!" Steve cheered Alex on. Pulling in his own empty line and leaving it to the side, he began helping Alex out with pulling whatever unknown item they had hooked in. Even with their combined strength pulling back it still was a mighty struggle, the fishing rod almost bent a full ninety degrees from the strain. "Whatever it is doesn't want to let up!-"_ _

__Just when both of their grip was about to slip a shape suddenly loomed to the surface and burst out in a dark flurry, the large object hitting Steve square in the face and knocking both of them backwards. While Steve was able to stop himself with his arms, Alex hit the stone wall at full force, making stars and dark blotches explode into her vision from the impact. She slid down to sit on the floor, closing her eyes and letting her head spin around. She heard Steve push whatever it was that they caught off of him with a grunt, a clattering sound ringing out as it hit the floor._ _

__When Alex finally opened her eyes after sitting on the ground for a few minutes and groaning to herself with pain, she found Steve kneeling beside her, concern in his gaze. "You ok?" He asked._ _

__"Yeah, i'm good." That was a total lie, as Alex was already beginning to sense a headache pounding at her temples. "What did we catch?" Finally, for the first time she could clearly see what the hook had dug into. It was the old, broken skeletal remains of a wolf, the bones grown over with muck and seagrass. Several ribs were missing from its torso and its back was bent oddly, as if shattered by an outside force._ _

__"Doesn't seem like anything useful, besides a lot of bonemeal… wait, what's that?" Steve pointed to an item wedged firmly in the jaws of the canine. It was a block which they had never even seen before, one which glowed an irresistible aqua blue color brighter than any flower. Its core was a shiny cold cube, and its corners were inlaid with shiny iron. Just looking at it gave both of them the urge to retrieve it._ _

__"Let me see if I can get it out." With that, Alex leaned over and gripped the top and bottom jaws of the wolf, dislocating and separating them with a large **CRACK** noise. She put her hand into the dog's mouth and fished it out, the water-worn teeth scraping on her wrist and fingers. She held the cube in both hands for both Steve and herself to see, inspecting it closely. The cubes glowing aura pulsated, as if it were alive and breathing._ _

__"What do you think it is?" Steve whispered._ _

__"Well, neither of us know, right?" Alex replied right back. "It has to be something important, though. Right?" She held it up close to her face, watching as it moved in front of her. It exuded an aura over the two unlike any other they had felt in their lives; one of extraordinary power._ _

__"I feel like we need to find out what this is." Steve put one of his hands up to his mouth, apparently mulling over what to do._ _

__An idea suddenly lit up in Alex's head. "I got something. You know the cleric in the village near our base, right?" When Steve nodded, she continued. "What if we brought this to them? I'm sure we would be able to find out what it is then."_ _

__"Why didn't I think of that? Alex, you're a genius," Alex couldn't help but smile at Steve's words, she was always one to enjoy compliments._ _

__"Thanks. Though, I think we should wait until sunrise to head out." And in fact, the sunrise was just beginning. As the sun peeked up over the horizon, it illuminated everything in a bright orange glow, like a fire had spread across the landscape. Alex herself considered it a beautiful sight, as well as a much-needed one. She could see the hostile mobs begin to burn in the sun, and soon the path would be mostly clear for them._ _

__Now, all that was needed was to make it to the village._ _


	2. The Village

"Dear Jeb, we've been walking for _ages_."

"No kidding." Steve looked to be about fed up with Alex's whining, judging by the soured expression he wore. They had been speed-walking for quite some time to get to the village by midday, and although both their legs screeched in discomfort and willed for them to stop, Alex was a bit more vocal about her feelings then Steve was.

"Don't you think maybe, just maybe we could sit down and relax?" Alex hopped over yet another giant tree root jutting out of the forest ground, and all the iron armor on her clattered with the movement. "I don't see why we have to be there so soon."

"Alex, look. Quicker we get there, the quicker we can see what this thing is. If it's nothing important, we can get back to the base faster! It makes sense, least to me it does." Steve was always one to prefer a fast, to-the-point solution, and this time was no different than before.

Luckily, with this neckbreak, furious walking pace, they managed to make it to the village borders by early afternoon. Unfortunately, they were both absolutely winded, and so took a moment to catch their breath and compose themselves.

"See? Told you… that we would make… it there quicker," Steve spoke between stuttered gasps as he leaned against a sturdy oak tree. His whole body shined with sweat and his dark short hair stuck out wildly as he took off his helmet to wipe at his sunburnt forehead. 

"When you keep us working like horses, yeah," Alex replied snappily, already irritated beyond belief at how much she had been pushed that day. Hopefully, she wouldn't have to work as hard as this for a while longer.

They passed through the village, saying hello to all the Testificates they saw as they passed by. Although everything seemed normal enough, Alex kept noticing that glint in the villagers' eyes that kept occuring every time they came close enough to say hello, how they stopped whatever they were doing to just… stare. It made her skin crawl as it kept happening, she had never seen this sort of behavior before and just hoped that it wasn't anything that was going to come back around and bite them in the rear.

"Steve, you see what I see?"

"What is it?" Instantly he was on edge just from Alex's tone.

"All the Testificates, whenever we pass by them they get this weird look in their eyes, like something's overcame them… i've never seen it before and I don't like how it keeps happening," Alex whispered hurriedly. 

"Well, guess we should hurry before anything can happen," His voice was tense and nervous, his senses all wound up from the eerie mood cast upon the small settlement. Making it to the tall, spindly cobblestone church, Alex only knocked once before forcing the oak door open, the hinges protesting with a loud creak as the two walked in. 

It was a small and cozy space. Torches lit up the cobble walls and floors with a mellow orange light, and weeds sprouted up here and there between cracks in the old stones. Shelves with dusty books lined one of the walls, and on the other was a mounted iron sword slightly tinged with rust yet still sharp enough for use, should the need arise. A testificate dressed in the signature purple and gold robes of a cleric stood at the other end, standing right beside a brewing stand with potions bubbling inside. They furrowed their unibrow as they looked towards the door at the sound of the creak, their face lighting up as they realized who it was.

"Hey, Betly!"

"Hello there! Alex, Steve," Betly walked up to the two of them, before doing separate small bows for both of them. "I am more than pleased for you to step foot in the Church of Jeb once more. Is there anything you need from me?"

"Well, yes, there is." Alex admitted. She reached into her inventory and retrieved the strange cube, holding it out in one of her hands for Betly to see. "Do you know what this is, by any chance?"

"An artifact? I can certainly-" Betly's words stumbled and faltered off when their eyes fell upon the block Alex held in her palm. " **O-oh.** " They gained that same dead-eyed, glossed-over stare that the other testificates before had gotten, and a moment of highly uncomfortable silence was held between the three. Alex and Steve glanced towards each other, unsure of what to say in the moment. 

"Betly, you ok?" Alex began. Her heart began to race in her chest as no response was given. "You don't look so good-"

"Give it to me." Betlys voice suddenly floated through the air, carrying a light, almost spaced-out tone. Alex began to back away, but yet the testificate was still staring at the block with their full undivided attention.

"What?" Steve sputtered out, still in deep confusion.

"Give it to me!" Now the cleric was beginning to get very aggressive, his voice gruff and demanding, yet still almost robotic in rhythm. "NOW!" Suddenly they took the sword off its mount on the wall, and sliced towards Alex. She barely jumped out of the way, the end of the sword grazing by where her kneecaps were just a second ago.

Not giving it a second thought, both humans ran for the door, bursting out into the open air. Alex barely had time to duck before an arrow pierced the air where her head was just moments ago, striking the cobble wall of the church. All the villagers that seemed hypnotized just moments ago were now kicked into a violent spur, they were armed with everything from hoes to axes to bows, and they had their eyes on one thing only; the block in Alex's possession.

"RUN!" Alex yelled, and with no hesitation at all the two sprinted down the yellowed grass road, followed in hot pursuit by a small army of Testificates all armed to the teeth with makeshift weaponry. Villagers never got violent like this unprovoked, usually their golems did all the fighting in their favor. That is, until now.

Arrows fell around their feet like rain as the two fled the small settlement, soon dashing across the plains. Alex kept wincing as the tall grass smacked at her face and body like whips, yet still giving some much needed cover. Finally both of them reached the woodlands, and although not many Testificates followed, there were enough to pose a threat if the two were caught. Storing the block into her inventory, she yanked hard on the back of Steve's armor, making them both crash into the bushes. They held their silence for a full minute, which in turn seemed to stretch itself into an eternity.

After the forest being mostly silent for a little bit of time, both Alex and Steve flopped out of the shrubbery and layed on the ground, gasping for air after their escape from the village and trying to think of what to do. 

"So," Alex swallowed harshly, before continuing. "I guess we didn't get our answer from the cleric."

"Nope." Steve shook his head, sitting up from the forest floor and wiping his forehead with his hand. The motion left a brown smear of mud across his face, which he didn't notice by how he kept talking. "I think we should just go back to the base, put this cursed block in a chest and forget about it for a while."

"Actually, that sounds like a good idea. I don't want to have villagers attack like this ever again." She got up from the ground and back on her feet, her iron armor rubbing against each other with loud clunks. They both began on their way home, noticing how low to the horizon the sun was getting. 

Then, after walking for quite some time, Alex began to hear things. Slight rustles of the underbrush, leaves falling from the trees in strange ways, the cracking of twigs and dry shrubbery in the distance. A creeping feeling began crawling up her back like a vine, goosebumps raising up on her arms as she got the sensation that both of them were being watched, and _followed_. 

"Steve. _Steve._ "

"What is it?" He wore a confused expression as he looked at Alex, not understanding why she was whispering.

"I think we're being watched by something. Just, keep walking and stay quiet." Both of them nodded to each other and continued on in a deadly silence, though now more alert than ever. 

The air was silent and still as a rock, and about as breathable as one too. The calls of birds was the only noise noticeable besides the shifting of the two humans' armor and the pounding of their boots on the grassy ground. It made her imagination run wild with the possibilities; some tame, like it simply being a figment of her own paranoia, others horrifying, like a shadowy beast ready to rip her and Steve into shreds to get at the mysterious cube she held in her inventory. She just hoped that whatever the outcome was was more mundane than her mind could think up of. 

Before Alex could even find a way to distract herself from her growing nervousness, the universe made up its mind for her. The tree branches above them shook furiously as blue and gold blurs fell from them, quickly surrounding the two. She didn't even have the time to properly see who they were before wool was literally pulled over her eyes, casting darkness on her vision. The last thing she heard was Steve struggling before something hard connected with the side of her head and her consciousness spiraled into nothing.


	3. Forest Traders

At first, everything was blurry when Alex opened her eyes. She woke up sitting down, her head hanging limply as she tried to muster up the courage to lift it up. However, as soon as she tried to move her arms, and failed, she realized her whole torso was tied up with a thick sturdy rope, pinning her to a log post. From what she could hear and feel Steve was tied up to the same post as well, them being almost back to back. Though, she was unsure if he had woken up as well or not. There were other sounds as well. Logs crackling in fires, the braying of llamas and the muttering of… villagers? It didn't make sense to her at first. 

She let out a groan as a headache began to rake its way through her skull, pounding away at her temples like a pickaxe against stone. Opening her eyes, she came face to face with a sight she didn't expect to see. A young wandering trader was sitting on a log, just a few blocks from her. It seems they had been there for a little while, as they were distracted with flipping one of the emeralds from their many pockets. Their inquisitive green eyes watched as the emerald went up and down again in the air. In the distance she could see a few fires and some tents of wool set up, most of the wandering traders gathered to talk and eat while a few stood guard with axes and swords in hand. _Maybe those are the ones that kidnapped us,_ She thought to herself. 

As well, she noticed that the majority of items in her inventory had been taken, including her armor and the mysterious cube. Her heartbeat began to rise as she realized that everything that would've been of use had been taken away. She needed it back, and quickly. She felt powerless without any sort of armor or weapon at her disposal.

Turning her attention back to the young trader in front of her, she mustered up the strength to talk despite the brutal ache radiating from the side of her head and the other bumps along her body that she sustained from getting dragged over to this mysterious clearing. When she did, her voice was grumpy and exceedingly tired.

"Hey. You." The wandering trader nearly jumped out of their own robes in fright at the gruffness of Alex's voice. As they stared at her with curiosity, she continued. "Where am I? How long have I and Steve been out?" She blew some of her disheveled long ginger hair out of her face and mouth, shifting uncomfortably as the rope dug into her shirt and arms.

"Oh, ah' didn't realize you were wakin' up so soon! Thought you'd be knocked out longer 'den that,'' They scratched the back of their cloaked head nervously. "Some of the guards brought you back an' tied you lot up here, took some stuff from y'all too. Think you've been out for a few hours now, 'ts pretty dark." 

She finally heard Steve begin to wake up, before he muttered, "Alex? Where are we?" 

"I don't know, these wandering traders tied us up here and took our stuff." Her voice spoke in a low whisper when addressing him. 

"Wait… the block." The state of panic in Steve's voice made Alex begin to get antsy as well. 

Quickly turning back to the young Wandering Trader in front of her, she prodded them for information. "Did you see where our items went?" 

"Yeah, some of 'em got put in a chest right o'er there," They pointed over behind Alex. She tried to crane her neck around but still couldn't manage to see wherever they were pointing at. "Our leader, Iris, she was really interested in the weird blue shiny thing y'all had on you."

"We need that!" Steve piped up, and suddenly Alex could feel Steve yanking harshly on the rope that bound them to the wooden pole as he struggled, only in turn making the ropes tighten around herself. She felt like she was choking from the sudden restriction.

"Cut that out," She snapped at him. After hearing a small almost inaudible _sorry_ from Steve, she asked the Trader yet again. "Is there any way we can see Iris?" 

"Let me ask," With that the young villager got up and ran off, and for a little while both of them sat there, watching as the other traders went about their own business. Finally, the young Trader returned, with two guards wielding stone swords. "Iris actually wants to see y'all! Says she's been waiting for you two to wake up."

The rope being sliced away and both her and Steve being able to stand up was by far the biggest relief of the evening. Her legs shook like slime blocks when she stood up and she took a moment to lean against the wood pole they were previously tied to, making sure that she wouldn't fall over trying to walk. They were led over to perhaps the biggest tent of all of them; one made of purple wool and with two llamas adorned in deep purple carpet grazing just outside. Even from where she stood she could smell something floral being burnt within, causing a sickeningly sweet smell to drift up to her nose.

One of the two guards lifted a flap of the tent, and the two went inside, ducking their heads to fit inside the tent. Despite how big the tent seemed on the outside, it seemed to shrink in on itself, especially with the intoxicating scent of herbs and flowers polluting the air. In front of them, sitting down on a cushion at a low table was Iris. In one hand was a small bottle filled with tea. In the other, she held in her wrinkled hands the pulsing, glowing blue cube that Alex had previously been safeguarding. Her skin was more ashen, and her eyes a dull purple that held wisdom beyond her years.

"Welcome. Sit down, please do," She motioned first to the two humans then to the carpet opposite to the table she was sat at. Alex and Steve cautiously looked to each other, before approaching and sitting down on the multicolored carpet. "First off, I do apologize for the kidnapping. It was a necessary precaution to make sure this group was kept safe from hostile foreigners, I'm sure you both can understand."

Alex and Steve both didn't necessarily understand why they had to be dealt with so aggressively, but nevertheless both of them nodded their heads. Iris continued on. "Now, I have to ask you two…" She set the blue block on the table, letting it rest on the wooden surface. "How in the world did you find this block?"

"Well uhm… we found it in a lake," Steve began. It was pitiful how bad he was at explaining in detail.

"We fished it up by accident. We tried to ask the villagers what it was but they attacked us instead." Alex was still wondering why the villagers attacked them at the time.

"Well, I guess it's understandable that you two do not know of the sacred three Artifacts." Iris reached under the table, and got an old scroll from beneath it. When she rolled it out, there were three illustrations of oddly shaped objects, one which very closely resembled the fist-sized cube sitting idly on the table. "These three artifacts are the energy manifestations of the three dimensions. In particular, the one you have is one of the hellscape, the Nether. It is called the Nether Reactor."

"So what does this mean?" Steve asked.

"It means that it being so far from its intended shrine for however long, has put the other two dimensions in danger. Without check the Nether will spread like a disease and eventually, the Nether is all that will be." The fear imbued in Iris' voice made both Alex and Steve tense.

"So that's what made the villagers we met so aggressive towards us?" Alex put a hand up to her mouth, unable to comprehend how big of a disaster this was becoming. 

Iris nodded. "Perhaps the aura of the Nether overwhelmed their passive minds. Nevertheless, you two must return the Nether Reactor to its rightful place," Rolling up the old scroll and putting it away, the old Testificate took out a map and compass, laying it in front of them and motioning for Alex and Steve to take them. "You will have to follow the compass all the way up north, past the dark forest, jungle and mountains. Only then will you be able to reach the shrine." She pointed to a marking on the map. 

"Thank you, Iris." Alex took the map and Steve the compass, both storing them into their pockets. "Where's the rest of our items at?"

"They're in one of the chests, i'm sure one of the other traders will be able to point you to it." Alex couldn't help but notice how Iris seemed to flinch as she took the cube hack, as if the Wandering Trader wanted it all to herself. "You may rest in one of the tents for the night. I wish you the best of luck for your journey." Iris bowed to the two of them. 

Alex and Steve exited the tent, Alex clutching the Nether Reactor to her chest like it was going to slip away from her at any moment. They sat down on the grass for a moment, if just to process what they had just heard.

"So… that's it? We have to travel thousands of blocks out into unfamiliar territory just to make sure that the world isn't destroyed?" Alex hunched over, putting her hands over her face as if to block out the unfortunate reality from her thoughts. "Good Jeb, every time I thought my life couldn't get worse…" 

"Alex, it's ok." Steve raised his arm and patted her on the shoulder. "Let's just try to find our stuff and get some sleep. It'll be better to think about it in the morning." 

Alex let her hands fall to her lap, and as she did her gaze locked with Steves. She sighed. "Fine, you're right." They both got up, and headed over to a tent with chests and barrels stacked up near it. Steve opened the chest nearest to him, which proved to be empty, but when he closed it he nearly jumped out of his own skin from fright. The young wandering trader that Alex had seen earlier was standing behind it, and as the chest closed they jumped on top of it, sitting down and crossing their legs as they looked at Alex and Steve with curiosity.

"How'd it go with Iris?" Before Alex or Steve even had time to respond, the trader delved into another topic entirely, leaving the last one in the dust. "Say, I haven't heard y'alls names yet! M' name's Sheep."

"My name is Alex, and he's Steve." Finally finding her stuff, Alex began retrieving her items from the barrel, equipping her armor back on and re-sorting her inventory. "Sheep? That's kind of an odd name, haven't heard of it before."

"Well, really it isn't my _first_ name," Sheep chuckled. Their hands went up to their face, adjusting the red bandanna around the lower half of their mouth. "I chose it for m'self, after joining this here group." They watched as Alex and Steve gathered their items, before sliding off the chest they sat on. "Look, i'll lead both of you to one of the tents," They motioned for the two of them to follow.

Alex and Steve looked at each other, as if confirming the absurdity of the situation to each other. In the back of Alex's mind, however, there sat a nagging feeling that the absurdity was only going to get worse.

* * *

Alex couldn't sleep. Everyone else already was resting peacefully, but insomnia had put its cold merciless grasp on her mind and would simply not let go. She layed on her back, staring up disinterestedly at the blank ceiling of the yellow tent. Occasionally she would drift off into a light, fitful stupor, only to be rudely risen to waking for no apparent reason, the dark moons under her eyes deepening and her mood becoming ever more sour.

Huffing under her breath, she decided to take out the Nether Reactor from her inventory. She held it lightly in front of her face with the fingertips supporting the block up, and simply watched as the cube glowed and occasionally shook with its own secular heartbeat. She found it almost anticlimactic, that this hand-sized object could hold the energy and rage of the Nether within its boundaries. But, she assumed stranger things could be true. Now would only be the question of what, and when.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So if you couldn't tell from the chapter, Sheep is Nonbinary! They'll definitely be around as one of the more major side characters in this fic ^^ 
> 
> I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, I'll probably be posting more chapters soon! (Or as fast as I can write them, usually)


	4. The Mountain Pass

Alex and Steve hadn't been expecting for anyone to accompany them on their journey. When they had set out, all they had gotten was a little farewell from the wandering traders as they packed up their tents, and a glimpse of Sheep in a deep argument with Iris. Neither of them could pick up on the words being spoken, but they assumed from the murderous looks Sheep was giving the leader of the traders, that it was quite a fierce discussion.

They walked along an overgrown path, them discussing where to go next. "Well, are we going north? The map says that we need to go far north to be able to make it to the shrine." Alex held the map up, her eyes following up the page almost to the top border, where the marking indicated the shrine's location. Stopping where she was, she leaned so that Steve could see as well, their shoulders almost brushing together with the close proximity.

"From what it looks like, we are. I'm not sure exactly how accurate this compass is, but I just hope it's accurate enough," Steve tapped at the glass of the compass, which pointed the way forward for the two.

It was then that they heard rustling in the trees above them, leaves falling onto their helmets and shoulders. Both of them barely had time to jump out of the way and ready their weapons as a very familiar wandering trader fell out from the branches, hitting the ground with a hard grunt.

"Sheep?"

"Yep, that's me." Sheep wheezed, eventually regaining the wind that they knocked out of themself and getting back up from the ground. They dusted the dirt off their blue robes, before expectantly crossing their arms and looking at both Alex and Steve.

"Aren't you supposed to be with the other traders?" Alex asked. She quickly put away the bow that she was previously at the ready with, Steve doing the same with his iron sword.

"I mean, yeah but… I wanna follow you guys instead!" Sheep patiently waited for a response from the two. A single glance was shared between the two humans, before they nodded to each other in simple understanding.

"Fine, but only if you know where to go after this whole thing is hopefully over." With that, they continued on, Sheep almost skipping beside them as they walked through the forest.

"Well, I have to admit, Iris really don't like me doin' stuff on my own like this. Always sayn' that i'm going to get into more trouble then I ask for. Well, this time i'm not going to!" They seemed so proud of this fact. "And besides, I know exactly where the group is going for uhh… least a few months! So if it doesn't take too long I know exactly where to find them." 

Alex found it uplifting that Sheep had such a positive outlook on the situation. "Well, i'm glad you don't have to worry about that, at least."

Finally, all three of them made it to the first real obstacle of the journey; making it through a small mountain pass full of floating gravel, barely clinging onto the stone and waiting for the right moment to fall. The oddly shaped rock created stunning overhangs, yet the gravel posed an inherent, ever so present danger for anything travelling through the area. As soon as they had climbed up onto the flat part of the mountain, Sheep turned around sharply to face the two humans.

"Be careful! This place's more deadly 'den it looks," They warned. Beginning down the path, they kept their head tilted up towards the sky, almost blatantly ignoring where they were walking.

"Are you sure?" Steve asked, walking in front of Sheep and not heeding the given warning. "It doesn't seem that-"

"Look out!" Suddenly Steve was yanked backwards, and not a second later a mound of gravel fell onto the stone with a mighty **crunch**. Steve flinched away, both of the humans surprised by the gravel's sudden appearance while Sheep was largely unamused, staring at the pile of grey pebbles with a lifted unibrow.

"See, told ya so!" To accentuate their point, Sheep pointed upwards towards where the gravel had fallen from. A huge chunk of the overhang was missing where the blocks had dislodged themselves. "Ya gotta use your eyes, not your mouth! Any sorta vibration's gonna make these things fall, and lemme tell you it's not fun to dig yourself out of these."

With that, all of them began looking up to the overhangs as they walked, trying to weave around any visible floating mounds they could spot. In fact, they were all so focused on what was above them that they weren't considering what surface they were walking on; it all was the same. That is, until Alex stepped on stone that felt particularly… _squishy_. She screeched in surprise and fright as the earth began pulling at her like quicksand, quickly sinking in all the way up to her waist.

"Steve, Sheep! Help!" She kept getting pulled in further and further, and as she sunk all the way up to her chest she could feel things wriggling within the fake stone, brushing against her and causing her skin to tingle. She absolutely hated it, wanted out of it as quickly as possible. She reached out, and both Sheep and Steve gripped her arms, tugging with all their might. After an eternity, Alex felt the grip the earth had on her loosening and she was pulled out. She stood up and chose to lean against Steve, shaking off what seemed to be a greyish paste with the same consistency of mud and shivering to rid herself of the slithering feeling that still lingered on.

"Look!" They all turned to see the culprit of Alex's near-suffocation; silverfish. They slithered from the ground that they infected, hissing and squeaking as they wriggled towards their prey. It wasn't too hard to deal with; mostly just a lot of stomping involved to get rid of the infestation. As Alex trampled the last silverfish, she couldn't help but look into its glassed-over, bugged-out beady eyes, how they were angry even in death. She felt that they would be back to haunt her soon.

"Gotta be careful of those there silverfish, they'll turn the stone t' sludge underneath ya and suffocate ya with it! I've seen a llama get dragged into one of those traps, ain't the most pleasant way to go." Sheep shivered at the recounted memory.

It was nearing nightfall when they reached the edge of the mountains. In front of them spawled an expanse of Dark Forest, giant mushrooms popping up from the vast covering of trees every so often. Even so there was trouble: a giant dark mansion loomed up, its presence rising above and dwarfing the treeline surrounding it like a mountain out of an ocean. It was made of a dark wood, outlined by weathered cobble and vines. Even just looking at it, all of them could sense a dark aura radiating from the structure.

"Sheep, what's that?" Alex pointed to the structure in the distance. Even then she could see how the Trader recoiled from its view, the nervousness in their emerald green eyes as they looked away.

"Eemmm, it's… nothing, nothing really! All y'all gotta do is stay away from it, that's all to it. Curiosity killed the creeper, y'know." 

Sheeps words were less than reassuring. Nevertheless, Alex and Steve didn't speak about it, despite the questions swirling through their minds like angry bees. All that they had to do was cross this forest. It couldn't be too hard to manage… right?


	5. Into The Woods

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter ended up being longer then i anticipated, so I hope you all enjoy it!

It was dead quiet. Alex shivered as the group trudged on, her hands wrapped around herself in her own comforting hug. They were under the shade of the roofed forest, where even the light of the moon couldn't reach them. Sheep led the way with a torch and compass, Alex and Steve in tow. Besides the normal sounds of the woods, Alex could also hear other mobs: the groaning of zombies, the crawling of spiders and the dry crackling of skeletons as they milled about. Of course, she also had to worry about a more silent, deadly killer; the creeper.

"Why can't we set up camp now?" She whisper-asked as she trudged along. _Can't see how bad it would be to just set down a few beds and go to sleep now,_ She thought.

"Haven't you two heard? It's bad luck to sleep in a Dark Forest, 'specially for travellers. We aren't stoppin' here, that's for sure." Sheep returned this in a hushed, almost frantic tone. 

"Sheep, are you ok?" You've been acting weird ever since we entered the forest. Is something bothering you?" From the short amount of time that Alex had known Sheep, they didn't seem like the type to act this sort of way; jumpy, nervous, almost irrational. 

"Nah, it's all good!" Sheep tried to pass off a confident thumbs up. "I'm all fine 'ere. It's just that, well, Dark Forests make me feel off," They fidgeted with the bandanna over the lower half of their face, quickly turning their attention back to the compass they held.

Alex felt that Sheep wasn't revealing something important about the situation to them, and with a glance towards Steve and the expression he wore, she confirmed that he felt approximately the same about it. However, before she had time to poke Sheep for more information on exactly _why_ he was acting so weird, a whistling sound flew past her head and struck Steve in the shoulder, lodging itself into his chest plate armor. Whirling around and bringing up her bow and arrows, she saw the source of the attack; a skeleton hiding under the darkness of a tree with a bow aimed and at the ready. As it clicked menacingly and stared with its empty grey eye sockets at the group, it loaded another arrow into its mildewy, barely-functional bow. Quickly taking aim, she readied her own bow and fired, landing a hit dead-center in the middle of the skeleton's forehead. It crumbled to the ground, leaving its own body lifeless and inert.

She turned around just as she heard the hiss of a creeper getting hurt, and then its subsequent explosion that left a gaping hole in the dirt. Steve quickly was getting up from the ground that he had been thrown onto by the blast, and as both of them took a moment to breathe, they heard something that worried them; the sound of zombies approaching. _They must've been drawn by the creeper blast,_ Alex thought.

"Let's git outta here!" Sheep's voice suddenly cut through the air, full of barely internalized panic. Deciding together that sticking around to fight the oncoming mobs was too much work, they pushed on further through the forest, following Sheep and the compass northward.

It was only a matter of time until they came across an odd structure that definitely wasn't natural. A series of small natural waterfalls channeling down into a small pond around it, and on top of the rocks that formed the fresh water spring was a statue of a Testificate kneeling whilst holding an axe. However, Alex noticed some key differences in the statue that made it differ from a regular villager. Namely, it wore different clothes and it had two separate brows rather than the signature unibrow that all villagers sported. Its carved blank grey eyes seemed to glare at the group of adventurers in disgrace, as if it was appalled at their very presence. 

"Let's stop here for a bit." Alex flopped down onto the cool grass, the other two following shortly. Trying to take a few deep breaths and quell the adrenaline rush she got from shooting the skeleton, she took a look at the map. Immediately she gave a groan of disappointment. 

"What's the matter?" Steve propped himself up on his elbows to get a better look at what Alex was looking at.

"We're so far away from the shrine. We're going to need to cross ten biomes at a **minimum** to get to it." Alex put her head back on the dirt. "Honestly feels like we're never going to get there." 

"Well, we can try," Steve shrugged. They laid there for a few moments longer, before deciding that they were rested enough to continue. But as they got up, all of them heard something that put them on edge. A deep rumble, almost like a growl. It shook the very ground they stood on, sending subtle vibrations through their bodies.

As if by instinct, Alex grabbed Steve's hand in her own, holding it for a few seconds as she looked around into the dark outlines of the trees. She internally cursed to the wind of her own lack of night vision, as she couldn't see anything out of the ordinary. "What was that?" She asked, letting go of his hand and moving to hover it over her bow and arrow in case she needed to have it at the ready again.

"I dunno, but i don't wanna stick 'round to find out!" Sheep had a point. Whatever made that noise sounded _big_ , and if it was hostile it would only mean trouble. 

"Yeah, let's go." As Alex and the others left the clearing, she saw something out of the corner of her eye that made her skin begin crawling the same way it did with the Silverfish. Two eyes in the shade of dulled lapis lazuli stared back at her. As soon as Alex turned her head to get a closer look, whatever or whomever she had seen before now was gone. It was as if she had seen a ghost. She decided that it was a trick of the light, and if it wasn't she was going to outrun it.

Getting through the forest now that their presence was made crystal-clear to the mobs was no piece of cake. Every so often they'd have to mow down a horde of zombies and skeletons, Sheep using their stone axe, Steve with his iron sword and Alex with her bow and arrow. Every time they went through this process, more arrows were shot at them, and they kept taking more damage. Alex felt herself getting both more weary, and wary too. It didn't help that she kept hearing more conspicuous activity around them, that eerily reminded her of the time the Wandering Traders jumped them. Leaves rustling, branches snapping off and falling to the ground in unnatural ways. Out of the corners of her eyes she could see the same lifeless blue eyes watching as the adventurers walked by, but she could never turn quickly enough to see them head on. And occasionally she could feel the same deep rumble from before, passing through the air in a way that made her stomach churn. It sounded almost familiar in a way, but yet distorted, bastardized beyond clear recognition.

The final clue came when they stumbled upon a makeshift weaponsmith. What used to be a natural ground-level lava pool now had a brick oven positioned right above the magma's surface, heating the inside to unimaginable levels. Iron and gold weapons sat on racks, ready to be polished and sharpened to a deadly edge. Randomly strewn about were cauldrons on water and weather-worn anvil, having seen their fair share of use.

They all paused for a moment, not sure what to do with the situation they were in. The apparent trance shared in the silence was broken when Steve asked Sheep a question which set all the alarm bells off in Alex's head.

"Sheep, why are you shivering?" 

"This ain't good. No no _no_ we're in the wrong place-" Sheep pointed to a worn banner stuck onto the tree. It had the exact same face as the statue that they had seen earlier. Sun-bleached grey, with a large nose, two angry brows and blue eyes. "We shouldn't've come 'ere."

"Why's that?" Steve asked. A silence, too quiet to be comfortable, fell upon them all. And that's when Sheep let the confession slip.

"We're in the Illager's territory."

All hell broke loose. Out of the dark treeline came volleys of arrows, striking Alex and Steve's armor in sharp clangs as the tips stuck into the metal and even into their skin. Alex began panicking and firing at random, as wherever she looked she didn't see any enemies; just darkness and arrows all aimed at them. Without warning, one of the ambushers charged out of the bushes, engaging Steve with an axe. They had the general appearance of a villager, save for their ashen grey skin, angry dark separated brows and cold, empty eyes full of hatred. Steve delivered the final blow to the Vindicator and it dropped down lifeless. 

Sheep, seeing something the others didn't, charged into the trees with a triumphant war cry and axe held up high. Alex's heart dropped as the yell suddenly turned into an ear-piercing shriek of terror and pain before fading until she could not hear it anymore. 

The rumble that they had heard before all at once became much clearer, and the creature making it burst through the treelines in a blur of grey. It had the head of a villager, with curved horns and rows of sharp teeth in its mouth included, and the quadrupedal body of what could be similar to a horse. Its giant black hoofs made the ground thunder as it let out another echoing bellow from its maw. On its back controlling it sat a Pillager, crossbow at the ready and holding the reins of its steed in its other hand.

Alex barely had time to react before she saw Steve get charged and flung by the beast, his back hitting one of the dark oak trees nearby. She saw his eyes roll upwards and his body go limp as he hit the ground unconscious. As she stood there, bow at the ready, she saw some of the Illagers begin to emerge from the bushes, holding an array of both crossbows and iron tools. She was completely, utterly surrounded, with Steve down for the count and no idea where Sheep went. 

She loaded up an arrow and fired it at the giant villager-headed monster. It landed successfully, embedding itself into one of the creatures legs as it let out a cry of pain and anger. Whatever satisfaction she had felt previously was now dashed as the thing ran forward and pushed her off her feet with its horns, knocking the air out of her as she fell onto her back. It placed a hoof immediately on her chest, pinning her down to the floor and restricting her breathing even more. The blow made her see triple vision, the view she saw spiraling around each other like she had eaten a pufferfish.

As she fought to get air back into her lungs, the illager got off the back of the beast. They held nothing but contempt and malice in their eyes as she looked at the human under their own mercy. "You got something we want," They growled. Suddenly she felt them rifling through her inventory, pulling the Nether Reactor out of it. She felt violated of her own personal space, so uncomfortable with this invasion of her hotbar. She tried to get up, tried to fight. But when the creature that pushed her to the floor growled at her, and along with her spinning vision, she stayed down. "Consider this a transaction, courtesy of Master Cassius," They chuckled, getting back up onto the creature they had ridden before. "Let's go, boys!" She felt the hoof lift off her, and before she knew it, all of the Illagers were gone, slinking back through the trees to wherever they had come from.

As soon as she wasn't seeing everything tripled anymore, Alex sat up slowly from the ground. She had kept everything else in her inventory, except for the Nether Reactor. She could already see the first beginning of bruises forming on her pale skin, she knew they would hurt like hell soon enough. She crawled on her hands and knees to where Steve was face down on the ground, kneeling beside him.

"Steve? Steve! Wake up!" She shook his shoulder, before rolling him onto his back. For a frightening minute there was no response as Alex kept trying to wake him up. After what felt like an eternity, she heard him give a groan of pain as his eyes opened. He started trying to sit up, but began wincing silently as he did so. "Steve, thank gods you're ok," Alex helped him up into a sit off the grass, before she pulled him into a hug.

"Yeah, I'm good. Got the lights knocked out of me by whatever the hell that thing was." Alex could almost see a thought ticking in Steve's brain, before he suddenly began to blurt out questions. "Where's the Nether Reactor? Where's Sheep?"

"Nether Reactor got taken by those Illagers. And since I don't see or hear Sheep, I'm going to assume they got taken too. Maybe as a sick live trophy, who knows," She looked towards the ground, a sour expression going over her face like the shadow of an oncoming storm.

"What are we going to do? We can't do anything if we don't have the cube. Maybe we just should turn around and forget this happened. The base isn't too far off anyways-"

"No." Alex's voice was scarily stern. Getting up from the ground, she looked upwards towards the night sky. Even from where the two were they could still see the massive structure of the mansion in the distance, its pitch black facade imposing a warning upon whoever dared to get even close within its range. 

"We're going to get Sheep and the Reactor back."


	6. Woodland Mansion

"This was such a dumb idea." Alex groaned, putting her face in her hands. 

"It's your dumb idea," Steve growled back. "If you really want we can just go back home and pretend none of this happened."

"No, I can't do that." Alex shook her head.

Both of them sat bickering in the treetops right outside the mansion. The stained glass windows glowed with the warm yellow light of torches set upon the walls, and the whole structure creaked in such a way that it almost breathed. It's dark wood cast a threatening shadow over the forest around it, which was an impressive feat considering how terrifying the Dark Forest already was. It didn't help that dark clouds had conjured themselves out of nowhere, the wind picking up and blowing their hair into their face. Occasionally she could see Illagers move around the halls through the windows, either just aimlessly wandering about or actively patrolling the halls.

"So how are we going to get in?" Steve put his hand up to his mouth as he mulled over the possibilities."

"Look, we're gonna jump, we're gonna break that window-" She pointed her finger first to the branches they were on before tracing an arc to the closest window near them. "Then we're going to find Sheep and the Nether Reactor in there and get the hell away before these guys can come back for us." Breathing in, she steeled herself for the jump. If somehow she or Steve missed… well, it wasn't going to look very pretty.

"How do you know they're in there?-"

"I just know!" She snapped, before quickly realizing and softening her tone. "Where else would they be? We just gotta hope that both are here."

"I guess you're right. If we get axes straight to the face I'm blaming you." Steve sighed. "On the count of three, right?" Alex nodded.

"One, two…"

 **"THREE!"** There came a heart stopping moment where Alex soared through the air in slow motion, almost as light as a feather as she sailed towards the window. The illusion was quickly shattered, as well as the window as both humans busted through it and landed on the floor with hard thumps. As quickly as she and Steve had fallen they both got their bearings, crawling behind a set of bookshelves and hiding there. 

Alex had to hold her breath as a couple of illagers came around the corner, talking in their own heavily accented testificate language. As they lingered she could feel her heartbeat begin to race, the fear of being caught was overwhelming. But just as they were there, they were gone, scattered away amongst the halls. She let out a quiet breath.

"Ok, I think we're good." Both of them crawled from the tight space, checking to make sure that no illagers were there to spot them. She waved her hand, motioning for Steve to follow. "Let go," She mumbled quietly.

So began a dangerous, skin-crawling tense game of stealth hide-and-seek. The halls of red and white carpet, dry tall leafy bushes in pots, and torches faintly illuminating the walls were almost too many to count. Spiders plagued the ceilings with their webs, and several times both Alex and Steve had to smash a few of them flat when they came too close with bared fangs. As well, they had to hide whenever an illager passed by, a gamble for their lives every time they played their chances.

Particularly at one point they dodged into a random room in the mansion, closing the door just as a vindicator shuffled past. Turning to where they had entered, they took in the glory of the room. Tons of bookshelves lined the walls, and in the corner sat a few lonely wool armchairs, covered with layers of dust and cobwebs. Upon their entry a small spider hisses, scuttling away to hide behind one of the chairs. 

"Looks like they have quite the collection of enchanted books," Alex mumbled, taking out one of the books from the shelf and looking at its cover. _Protection 4_ , it read on its old cracked cover. She looked back to see Steve taking out select enchanted books from the shelves and stuffing them into his inventory in a flash. "Steve, what are you doing!?" 

"Hey, they stole from us, I'm allowed to steal from them." He put another book into his pockets to accent his point. "Besides, I don't think they were using these anyways."

"Ugh, fine." Alex rolled her eyes but let Steve take all the books he wanted from the shelves. 

Once the coast was clear and Steve's pockets were weighted down with enchanted books, they continued on down the dark halls, winding their way further into the mansion. The hallways were seemingly endless, the red-carpeted halls going on and on. Now lightning flashed outside the windows, the shutters of the windows howling like wolves. 

Only when they let their guard down did the worst happen. Alex heard an all-too-familiar sound of someone turning the corner behind them, and only managed to duck in time to avoid getting an axe in the head from the back. Both of them ran into a nearby room, Alex holding the door closed as the Vindicator started to break it down with their axe.

"Steve, do something!" Alex moved her head back to avoid the axe as it began to chop its way through the door, splinters showering her arms. Her arms were beginning to scream at her from the exertion as she held the door shut.

Steve drew his sword. "Open the door."

"Wait, what?"

"You heard it right!" With the axe striking deeper and deeper into the door Alex wasted no time with the details of such a plan. She opened it and watched as the Vindicator ran in, only to drop dead as Steve stabbed them directly in the chest. Alex was sure her heart was going to give out any second from how fast it had been racing, watching dark blood begin to slowly pool around the illager.

"Lets go, before anyone comes to see what the noise was."

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity of wandering, Alex and Steve walked into exactly the room they were searching for. A few depressing, damp cells were inside of the small room, iron bars forming a window for whoever was unfortunate enough to be trapped inside the cages. The stench of the room was noxious, so much so that Alex could hear Steve begin to silently retch. One lonely lamp in the center of the room was the only feeble source of light, and beyond that was a darkness comparable to the night. However, in the smallest cell, huddled in the corner and shivering, they could see Sheep there.

Sheep glanced up slowly upon their entry, but once they could see it was their friends, they quickly ran to the bars of the cell, gripping and shaking them forcefully. "Alex, Steve! You came to save me!" Alex could see tears springing from their eyes.

"Of course we did," Alex found a lever next to the iron door of the cell and flipped it, the door making an awful rusty screeching sound on its hinges as it opened. Sheep rushed out, hugging first Alex, and then Steve. It was then that she noticed that Sheeps bandanna that covered the lower half of their face was gone, and she could now see quite prominent burn scars stretching along their right cheek and down their neck. She had the sudden desire to ask them about the injury, but knew she had to focus on other things. "Your bandanna…"

"They took it from me, I dunno where is it." Sheeps hand went up to their face as if to touch the ghost of the fabric that used to sit there. Then, they glanced between the two humans. "What now?" 

"We have to find the Nether Reactor, otherwise this is for nothing. Let's go," She motioned for the other two to follow. With that, they revived their search through the halls, occasionally taking down vindicators and pillagers that they couldn't simply sneak past. It slowly became more infuriating as every room they checked contained no signs of the ancient relic. 

Until, they all came across a dark staircase of stone brick steps, reaching way far below and going into darkness. Just as Steve and Sheep were about to continue, Alex stopped them. "We should go down there."

"What?" Both of them said in unison.

"I mean it. I can feel something down there that's drawing me to it, like some sort of energy." It was true, it was as if she held an invisible line of string and something was very gently tugging on it, leading her down into the depths.

After a pause, Steve and Sheep nodded. Perhaps they were able to feel the same thing that she did. And so, they descended down the steps, plunging themselves into pure darkness. The stairway was so tight that the group was forced to go single-file, Alex leading the way and Steve taking last place to make sure no one followed them down. All that could be heard was a steady _drip, drip, drip_ as the condensed humidity of the underground dropped from the above stone onto the stairs and their heads. Alex and Steve's armor clicked and creaked as they went down step after step, the iron and leather somehow feeling heavier and heavier as they descended. Beads of sweat formed on Alex's forehead which soon became a downpour as the heat climbed higher and higher. 

An orange glow soon appeared at the end of the staircase, growing brighter and brighter as they approached until finally, all three of them stepped out into what appeared to be a grand hall of carved stone, painstakingly chiseled out with hard labor and pickaxes. Besides the sweltering heat, all that could be heard was the dripping of water, and a new sound; the bubbling and broiling of slow-moving lava. At the end of a hall an archway could be seen, leading off to the next room.

"What do y'all think'll be in thereeeaaAA **AAAA** -" Sheeps whispered question turned into a scream as a sharp-toothed worm rose from the earth, closing its jaw around the traders legs and dragging them down the hall as they screamed and flailed around, trying to grasp for any indent in the stone brick floor. "Help me!" With Sheep in tow the jaws turned the corner and disappeared under the archway into the other room.

"Sheep!" Alex and Steve ran down the hall after them, turning the corner and immediately stopping in their tracks. 

A black and red carpet drew a straight line through the grand, tall room, the walls made of blackened cobblestone and the lava dripping down in slowly moving falls into small pits in the stone floor. A grand throne-like seat of gold and emerald blocks was there, and sitting atop it on a pile of plush wooly carpet was an Evoker, his body laid across the seat in a comfortable fashion. His eyes were closed, his skin wrinkled with age and littered with scars from old battles both lost and won. Two Vindicators stood guard on either side, and they began to approach Alex and Steve. But with a few quick snaps of the Evokers fingers they quickly retreated back to their original spots, standing idly with blank facial expressions.

"Welcome." The Evoker tilted his head up, and Alex started at the realization; he was completely blind. His eyes were a blank white as milky and cloudy as cows milk, and they seemed to stare directly past both of them. Then, she saw Sheep, cowering on the carpet in front of the Evoker. They quickly got up and began to run back to Alex and Steve, but a deep rumble resonated through the room, and the jaw appeared again, forcefully tripping Sheep up and dragging them back to their original spot. "Not now," She could hear the Evoker whisper as smoke disappeared from his clenched fist. Sheeps terrified hiccups were heartbreaking and also made both Alex and Steve incredibly angry.

"Give us the Nether Reactor. We know you have it!" Alex brought out her bow, brandishing it and subtly getting an arrow in her other hand.

"My, so pushy! Don't humans like you have any manners, gods!" Alex swore she could see him roll his eyes. "At least we all could get the pleasantries out of the way before the demands." He sat up fully in his seat, facing the three in front of him. "I am Cassius. Also, I can tell you're aiming some sort of weapon at me. I highly suggest not using it."

"How…" Alex looked at her bow then back at Cassius's eyes. "You're blind. How could you tell?" _Stop asking questions!_ , She internally growled at herself. "We need the cube back." 

"Tell me something I don't know," Cassius's voice was dripping with sarcasm, "Yes, I am blind. But I know a lot more than you realize." Cassius resumed his sprawled lounging and pulled an item from his pocket which was like a beacon in the dark; the bright red bandanna that Sheep wore. Attached to it was a gold pin with an emblem that Alex faintly remembered having been on one of the llamas of the traders she had encountered before. He traced his thumb over the insignia, the very slightest of smiles etching itself upon his features. "I remember this," He mumbled.

"Give it back!" Sheep was suddenly standing up after having previously been groveling on the floor for mercy. "It's mine!" They reached out, their hand flailing to grasp the gold pin as Cassius yanked his hand back sharply.

"What do you mean? This is Iris's symbol, one of my friends. Quite a nice witch, she was. Left this mansion quite a while ago and I haven't seen her since." 

"But… Iris is the name of the leader of my Trader group…" Alex could almost see the gears shifting into place in Sheep's brain, the slow realization dawning on them that the one who they trusted the most was a Witch.

"Ah, so that's where she went! Never expected that of her, to be honest. Didn't seem like the type to be down in the dirt like that, though maybe age has changed both me and her." With that he tossed the bandanna and attached pin to the side, Sheep catching it in the air and holding it tenderly. They retreated behind Alex and Steve, Cassius doing nothing to stop this attempt and letting Sheep join the others.

"On another note, I assume you're looking for this?" In a flash, he brought the Nether Reactor from their sleeves and held it in one of their hands. The darkness made the glow appear ten times brighter, the bright white illuminating Cassius's face and the floor and chair around him. "I don't know how you found such a magically powerful item, but now, I think I might keep it all for myself." He smiled, baring sharp teeth.

"We need it! Don't you know what'll happen if we don't return it?"

"Enlighten me." Cassius sat up properly in his seat, crossing his legs and putting his hands on his lap, letting the Nether Reactor sit on his lap like a housecat. All Alex wanted to do at that moment was to walk up and smack the shit-eating grin off of Cassius's face. _Smug bastard_ , She thought.

"The Nether will take over everything that it isn't supposed to, and then you'll have nothing to rule over anymore." Steve muttered, loud enough for Cassius to hear.

"Is that so? Hmm..." Cassius put a hand up to his face, pondering over what to say next. The conversation was suspended in the air, the only noise being the slow broiling of flowing lava and the drip of humid rock as the Evoker made his decision.

"I will give you back the artifact," The group began to approach Cassius, but stopped when he added onto his sentence. "On one condition."

"What is it?" 

"That I join you. Do you know how boring it is to wander the same mansion for years on end? I've practically got everything in this place memorized top to bottom, back to front. So, you've given me the perfect chance to experience the rest of the world out there, at least what I can. And also," He added, smiling to himself. "I know how far it can be to get to the Nether Temple, it'll take a fair few months just in the overworld on foot. I happen to know the location of a lit nether portal that could get you there in a fraction of the time. But that's _only_ if you let me join your small group here."

"Deal." Alex blurted out before anyone else could object to it.

"Great! So the deal is settled." With that, Cassius tossed the cube forward, before clenching his hand into a fist and summoning a jaw up once again. It rose and clamped its teeth around the Reactor, moving smoothly across the hall towards the three. 

"Are y'all outta your minds? That's an Illager! Total evil, no morals? Anything ringing bells, 're y'all even _thinking_ with that noggin of yours anymore!?" Sheep whispered, almost jumping out of their skin as the jaw stopped in front of Steve, letting him fish the cube from its maw before it evaporated into thin air. By that point Sheep had put the bandanna back on their face, settling a bit now that they were comforted by the fabric.

"If it's the only way to do what we have to do, so be it. Even if I don't like it," Steve held the Nether Reactor tightly in his fist as if it was going to be taken away from him at any second.

"I suggest you stay the night, though I don't think you'll have a choice considering the storm outside. No worries about the other Illagers, i'll tell them that you are no longer intruders but merely guests in our home. Additionally, I think it's best you put back those enchanted books where you found them. No one likes a thief."

"Wait, wha-" Steve started, he had kept the books in his inventory a secret the entire time and they weren't even visible. However, when he looked up and saw Cassius wearing his smugness all over his face, he understood not to underestimate the Illagers power.

"I think we're all going to get along **swimmingly**."

Alex felt a sudden uneasiness about the situation at those words. She had no idea how trustworthy this Illager even was, and if they were to be led astray by his cunning mind or benefit by it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, so i dont know how often im gonna be able to post so uhh get ready for some inconsistencies in posting lol


	7. Treacherous Paths

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ended up making this one a bit longer then usual, maybe to make up for not posting in a little bit lol
> 
> Anyways, hope you all enjoy!

Both Alex and Steve got their sleep in one of the many rooms of the mansion, though they took shifts in sleeping and staying awake so that there was always a pair of eyes watching their surroundings. Neither of them could trust the Illagers to keep their word, and so dutifully they kept watch. Even without the lingering uncertainty, the storm outside rattled the building with such ferocity that both found it hard to get meaningful rest. Sheep however was out like a light as soon as they hit the bed. Alex didn't know if it was just the adrenaline crash from the terror they experienced earlier, or just overall exhaustion, but she didn't dare rouse them. They needed all the sleep they could get, after all.

In the morning Cassius bid farewell to the other Illagers, and the giant grey beast that had rammed Steve, which Alex quickly learned to be called a Ravager. The beast still was horrifying to her and she made sure to stay away from it until they were out of its sight. Soon they were walking through the forest and weaving between rose bushes, and Alex found Cassius to be at least of interesting company if nothing else. 

"Well, to be honest, I knew you all were somewhere in the forest. That Nether Reactor cube you have there is a beacon of magical energy, and I guess that Illagers like me are simply more attuned to it." He stretched his hands upwards, before folding them back in a normal, villager-like stance. For being blind and old, he was extremely light on his feet. "I just couldn't resist getting- wait a moment," He paused, before raising his arms and summoning a few Vexes which shot off into the bushes. They soon taunted a creeper out from where it had been hiding in wait for the humans to walk past, before striking it down, letting grey gunpowder spill out from its wounds. "Have to watch for creepers, they're craftier around these parts. Where was I? Oh, right. As I said, I just couldn't resist getting my hands on it. I'm sure you can understand such a thing."

They looked between each other, unsure of what to say as they walked on. Until, Steve finally spoke up in protest, crossing his arms. "I mean, you didn't have to steal it from us-"

"Admit it, you wouldn't have given it to me even if I asked!"

Alex facepalmed as the two began bickering back and forth. She knew that eventually a group like this would create some sort of internal conflict but she didn't expect it to be so sudden. There was a tug on her arm, she glanced down to see Sheep holding her wrist, their head nodding and eyes flicking back to motion to Steve and Cassius arguing just behind. Alex sighed, pursing her lips momentarily in deep thought. "Don't worry about them, Steve can't keep up an argument for long anyways."

She was right, as thankfully their bickering quickly devolved into grudgeful grumblings. She was thankful she didn't have to sit through more of their argument, or if it came to the worst case scenario, having to break up a fight. They reached the edge of the forest and the light hit her eyes harshly, making her raise a hand to hide them away. When she could finally see clearly again, they were faced with yet another mountainscape, albeit a much less challenging one. All they had to do was walk through a valley and cross a river, nothing that was out of the ordinary for Alex and Steve.

"I dont think ive ever been 'ere before!" Sheep craned their neck up to look at the sheer cliff sides. The sparkle of wonder in their eyes was definitely visible. "Isn't it just pretty?"

"You've seen nothing once, you've seen it a thousand times," Cassius raised his brows. His replies were stingingly sharp and sarcastic, even Sheep took notice. Grazing herds of cows and sheep took quick glances at the group, reacting with unease and backing away as Alex neared. She was the one holding the cube, she assumed that was what was making the passive mobs so restless.

"Seems like the mobs around here don't like the Nether Reactor," She muttered. However, her thoughts were interrupted as Cassius stopped sharply. 

"Wait." He blurted out, quickly squatting down and placing his hand onto the floor. After a moment of silence, he began to mumble, "Whatever it is, it's _massive_." He stood up, his voice beginning to shake. "You guys can feel the shake too, right?" 

"No…?" After a bit of concentrating, Alex and Steve suddenly realized they could feel shaking underneath the ground, ripples travelling up through the stones and into their very bones. She could feel the tremors in her teeth and head.

The tremors silenced themselves for a moment and a nail-biting silence proceeded, time seeming to slow to a halt. That is, until with an ungodly screech and large crash, a grey beast began to break through the rock wall behind Cassius. Its entire body was covered in cobble and the preserved bodies of mobs it had previously eaten, their forms turned into stone replicas that shifted and snarled even in stoney mummified death. Alex could see tens, maybe hundreds of silverfish crawling through the stone and amongst the bodies they previously consumed, puppeteering and operating it as one hivemind. That was what it was, she realized.

"Cobble monster!" To confirm Sheeps exclamation, the beast screeched, its 'mouth' opening to reveal jagged rock and cobble edges ready to eviscerate whatever it caught. "Run!" 

None of them needed a second opinion; they turned around and began running as fast as possible. They heard more rumbling as the monster moved around, and blocked off their path through the valley. Realizing that they didn't have a choice anymore, all of them geared up for a fight.

It was evident from Steve trying to stab the body of the giant worm-like mob with his sword that the thing was almost impervious to physical damage. The weapon was yanked from his grasp, leaving him empty handed as he watched his sword disappear amongst the cobble and grey sludge that the silverfish produced. The monster turned around and lunged, its mouth open with an angry hiss. All Steve could do was throw his hands up and accept the inevitability of his demise. The beast's head suddenly whipped away with an angry roar as one of Cassius' summoned jaws hit in in the jaw, its giant form twisting up into the air like smoke. The crumbling of stone and crunch of fossilized remains ricocheted in Alex's head like an avalanche. 

"I'll try and keep it occupied! Alex, see that spot in its forehead?" She squinted to see what Cassius was referring to, and soon saw a orange spot embedded on its head that glowed. "That's its core, try to strike it!"

Alex nodded. Both of them got to work, Alex using her bow to attempt to shoot at the monster's weak point while Cassius kept knocking the beast around. Sheep and Steve also attempted to help with the task by throwing whatever rocks they could find at the creatures head, but all it seemed to do was make the grey writhing monstrosity more angry at its inability to kill its prey.

At one point, Alex was perfectly lined up for the shot: she was right in front of the creature, its magma core exposed and vulnerable from the beating it had sustained. It was the perfect flawless scenario.

Except, she just couldn't do it. _What if I miss? What happens if I hit it wrong and it gets even more angry?_ These questions ran through her head, and they made her hesitate for a split second. Too long, for the monster's tail burst out of the earth and whipped her sharply, striking her and sending her flying into one of the valley cliff sides. Her head and vision instantly began to spin as pain radiated from where he hit the wall of rock with the most force. She gasped, which made the pain even stronger. It was as if the world was beating Alex down, not letting her get a moment of direly-needed respite.

She didn't know how much time had passed, but Steve had managed to find her and get her down from the ledge she had laid on. Now with an opening, all of them ran for the river and subsequent forest on the other side. She was so glad that this nightmare could finally end, at least until she recovered enough for the next one. Alex, Steve and Sheep wasted no time with diving in, paddling to the other side quickly. As Alex looked back however, she saw that Cassius still stood at the other side, nervousness drawn all over him as he shifted his weight from side to side.

"You know what, i'm just gonna stay here and find another way," He yelled. However, he wasn't going to find another way, as the Cobble Monster sprung up from the ground with a hiss, knocking the Evoker violently into the river with a swing of its tail. Alex could tell something was wrong, Cassius was flailing in erratic, confused movements as he struggled to keep his head above the surface, not swimming in any direction but just floating without direction or aim in the water. "Help, i can't swim!" _Stupid! He's blind, of course he can't swim well!_ Alex wanted to slap herself. 

She watched as Steve jumped in, swimming to Cassius and grabbing the Illager by the arm to drag him back over forcefully. The monster prepared to strike, and so she picked up a rock and hurled it full force at the evil entity, striking it close to its exposed core. It became disoriented, wriggling around in midair before turning around and burrowing back into the earth, deciding that the prey it had chosen was not worth the energy.

Steve dragged Cassius out of the water, and they all laid down for a moment, soaking wet and trying to dry out in the afternoon sunlight. Alex attempted to sit back up and the pain that erupted through her body made her grit her teeth from the intensity. She laid herself back down, the soreness lingering on and reminding her of her failure. However she couldn't muse on it for long, as Steve was quickly coming down from the adrenaline rush and was getting aggressive with a certain Evoker.

"It was **you**!" Steve yelled, pointing at Cassius.

"What?" Cassius got up, trying to clumsily squeeze the water out of his black robe with his hands. 

"You were the one that summoned that thing to attack us! You just wanted the Nether Reactor to yourself," Steve got up as well, jabbing Cassius in the center of his chest with a finger. "That monster was just placed there to get us out of the way."

"Of course not! Cobble Monsters are natural, they can't even be controlled by the greatest magical users in the world as far as I know, certainly not me! You just don't want me here because i'm another thieving Illager with no good intentions, huh? Am I just a burden to this group? Is that true?" Cassius' tone began to escalate, whilst Steve stayed silent at the Evokers' growing contempt. "Well, if you don't want me here, i'll just take my leave!" Alex swore she could hear the slightest quiver in Cassius' voice as he finished his sentence.

"Fine, go then." Steve growled. He and Sheep watched as Cassius stomped off, grumbling words under his breath that couldn't be heard. He began to slowly come down from his anger, his breathing evening out. That is, until he felt a sharp pain at the back of his head as someone hit him. "Ow! What was that for!?" He turned around, to be faced with Alex having gotten up from the ground despite her injury. She still was slightly hunched over herself, but her arms were crossed and she carried a stern expression on her face.

"Do you realize what you just did?" She started.

"I mean, Cassius just walked off. So is that something?"

"You dumbass. You just got rid of the one person who could get us to where we need to go quicker!" Alex uncrossed her arms just to put her face into her hands. "This couldn't be going any worse then now…" She attempted to straighten up, causing her to wince once more. "You have to go and talk to him, at least _try_ to get him back on our side again."

A moment of silence permeated the air. "Fine, i'll go do that," He rolled his eyes, anger still broiling under the surface as he walked off in the general direction that Cassius had stomped to.

Alex and Sheep looked between each other. "Say, why don't we set up camp for the night? Maybe over there?" She pointed to one part of the forest edge under a large oak tree.

"Sure! I'll try an' get a fire goin'." Sheep nodded, running quickly into the forest to find sticks for the fire.

* * *

Steve dreaded having to talk to Cassius. He had never been good with words at any point in his life, and that issue only proved itself over and over. From all the arguments with Alex to blowing steam over the latest incident with the Cobble Monster and letting his emotions get ahead of his thoughts, he knew that he was perhaps the least reliable person to persuade anyone of anything. Some part deep inside of him hoped that he wouldn't find Cassius, that he could just return with empty hands to angry glares and words. 

However, he proved himself wrong as soon as he stepped into a clearing in the forest, one that had a small pond with cod and salmon passively swimming about in it. Cassius sat up facing away at the pond, his legs crossed and perfectly still. Steve hesitated, before carefully taking a step towards him

"I know you're there." Steve almost jumped ten blocks high in the air after Cassius spoke. "What do you want?"

"I… I came to talk," Steve hung his head and walked up beside the Evoker, sitting down next to him near the small body of water. His eyes didn't dare go up from where he stared, at his own reflection in the still water. 

"I thought you didn't want me around." Smoke curled upwards from Cassius' palms as he stretched his hands out, a Vex materializing out of thin air and sinking into the water before retrieving a still-flopping cod.

"Well, y'know… we still need you, and what I'm trying to say is that," Steve rubbed the back of his head awkwardly. "The group still needs you, you're the only one who knows the location to that nether portal you mentioned."

"Are you sure? As far as I know or am concerned, you all still think i'm a menace, even if i'm blind and old." He let the cod slip back into the water clumsily, the fish rejoining its school in the pond.

"Well, you're a menace in some ways-" Steve saw Cassius raise an eyebrow as he turned his head ever so slightly towards Steve, and instantly he began to fumble his words. "I mean like, when you fought the Cobble Monster thing, you know! Ugh!" Steve put his face into his hands. "What i'm really trying to say is, i'm sorry and we need you back." He waited for a response, wondering how he would take his horrific word choice.

What he didn't expect was for Cassius to begin laughing, a deep chuckle rising from his throat. It was so sudden and so contagious that Steve couldn't help but give a nervous smile himself, confusion adding itself into the stew of emotions inside him.

"I get it," Cassius began. "You do actually want me back?"

"Yep," Steve nodded.

"Well then, I'll come with you, but on one condition…" Steve held his breath. “That you don’t try to push me away again-”

“You had me there for a second!” Steve punched Cassius lightly in the arm, and he gave the slightest of toothy grins that he always seemed to have ready”

“Have to keep you on your toes, I have a reputation for that, after all.” Then, he paused. “You are sure you won’t leave me behind?” He tilted his head slightly to the side. Even though Cassius couldn’t see, Steve swore he saw turmoil and uncertainty within his white gaze.

“Of course I am,” Steve nodded. He could see Cassius physically relax at that statement, his shoulders slumping as the tension escaped them. Himself, he was amazed that he made it all the way through that conversation without blowing his lid at Cassius. Perhaps he was getting better at talking to others. Both of them got up from the forest floor, and Steve said, “Let’s go find the others, I'm sure they set up camp already.”

They began their walk back to the edge of the forest, their friendship at least mended for the moment. Steve hoped it would stay that way


	8. Void, Part 1

The entity writhed in the darkness.

It had been sitting there for gods knows how long, cast out by what it once considered friends into a land desolate and barren: the Void. It itself was shapeless, its form scattered into dark blocky smoke that whirled around in a typhoon of darkness. It kept wandering to no avail, never getting to any place that was meaningful. 

It was angry and growing restless. For what extended to the likes of an eternity it was chained to this insufferable unchanging landscape, cursed to wander until it had learned its lesson and what it had done wrong before. Except, it didn't know. It had forgotten almost everything, even its own name. It always had to be in the right, and if it wasn't, then everyone else was in the wrong along with it. That was how it always was, in the grand scheme of things… right? Sure, it had terrorized the ancient race of humans and had influenced the creation of the Ultimate Wither that had driven the ancient race to an untimely extinction, but even then, it had its reasons to do such a horrible thing. The old humans were… merciless, even by its own standards.

It wanted something, anything to remember its purpose. It felt lost, and small. Despite once being an immortal god with unfathomable power, it felt so, so small and mortal by its isolation. It had been stripped of its memories, its connections, what made it powerful in the first place. It was utterly alone.

Then, it felt a tug. Its mind sharpened, turning its attention onto possibly the first sensation in several lifetimes other than a constant cold chill against itself. Coming to a certain spot in the nothingness of the void, it conjured up a mirage of smoke and magic, a simple temporary window to the outside of its magical prison. Doing so put a spin in the entity's field of vision for a split second, but then it subsided and it was allowed to view what was happening.

It gazed at a birds eye view upon a group of explorers, relaxing around a fire as the pitch black of the night surrounded them like a creeping fog. It at first drew its short attention towards the two mobs in the picture, an Evoker and a young Wandering Trader sitting down on the grass, face to face with each other. It watched as the trader traced something out onto the back of the Illagers hand with their finger, obviously reenacting a great story as best to their abilities as they could. The Illager smiled, adding his own words to the story before both of them began to laugh. The entity wished it could hear what was said, but the small sliver of what it could view was immensely limited as is.

Then, it was drawn towards the two humans in the image. It was shocked that there were still humans left, but it assumed that small pockets could've survived the mass extinction. It watched as the two talked back and forth, the one with the fiery orange hair poking her partner in the side before breaking into laughter, with the other one joining in just a second later. The entity was brought back by the sight to an earlier time in history, when all was good and it wasn't locked up to stew in its own emotions for what might as well be all of time. In particular,it was drawn to one of the humans; the man with scruffy dark hair and piercing purple eyes. The way that he interacted with the others, how he began a story around the campfire and soon had everyone around him in tears for laughter… it's interest was piqued by the scene. It wished it could be there, but yet it was still stuck.

It's unfortunate hopelessness was made all the more apparent, because soon the image began to fade and dissipate, growing fainter and fainter by the second _'No!'_ , It thought as it attempted to keep its vision into the overworld still there. Yet, in the end it merely grasped at straws, as whatever it was viewing was replaced by the void once more.

It wanted to scream out of frustration, to curse the rest of the gods for doing such a cruel thing to it. This had surely gone on for long enough, right? It had forgotten almost everything, how was that not punishment enough?

...Except, something inside its head began to stir. Somehow, seeing the overworld and the inhabitants within it began to stir its memory. Slowly, as if all the pieces were falling into place, it came to a realization for the first time in what felt like millenia. It brought both great joy and great terror, at this new memory that was old as time but yet clear as day. It remembered who it was.

It was Herobrine, god of anarchy and monarch of the Nether and all that resided within the dimensions boundaries.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaaand this is where Herobrine gets added into the fuckery lol
> 
> Sorry for it being such a short chapter this time around! I hope you like it nevertheless ^^


	9. Battle Practice

Alex had something on her mind for quite a while, that had been bothering her constantly for the last few days they had been travelling since the incident with the Cobble Monster. It was the fact that she couldn't really fight, at least proficiently. She remembered all the hesitating she had done before when it really counted, all the fumbles with her weapons. Her inexperience and unwillingness to learn had gotten the group into so much more trouble than they had asked for.

However, now she knew that unless she quickly figured out how to fight effectively and without relying on others to defend her, she was going to cost herself or others their life. She was only unsure about the person, or rather, the mob that was going to teach her. Namely, if he would accept her offer.

She sighed, zoning back in and staring at the log fire they had set up before. They had set up near a mountain cliff just before sunset and the cold draft that rushed around made the orange flames flicker and shake. Even without the fire, the sunset cast the landscape in an orange glow. Shaking the hair out of her face and brushing the old grass off her pants, she stood up immediately shambling over to Cassius and Sheep. The two were sleeping sitting up against a spruce tree, Sheep leaning their head against Cassius' arms. It had barely been a week and the two were already very close to each other.

"Cassius. _Cassius,_ wake up," Alex began poking the Evoker in the arm and chest, hoping to draw a reaction. Eventually he sighed and carefully opened his whited-out eyes, rubbing his face with his free hand.

"What is it?" He mumbled, a hint of irritation coming through his slow drawl at having been woken up from his nap. 

"Can you come with me? I want to ask you something, a favor." She held her breath as Cassius contemplated his response.

"Ok, I will." Carefully he moved Sheeps head so that it rested on the tree bark instead of his arm, and slowly got up from the ground, making sure that he hadn't disturbed the traders sleep. After both having walked just a bit away from the camp, Cassius turned to Alex, his arms folded into his sleeves in a way signature of most testificates. "So, what is it that you want from me? I'm curious." 

"I want you to fight me," When Cassius raised an eyebrow in both surprise and amusement, Alex realized how out-of-place that sentence sounded coming out of her mouth so casually. "Let me word that better," She stuttered in a mild panic. "I want you to teach me how to fight." 

"Me, teaching you? How to fight?" There was silence before Cassius laughed. "That's the last thing I expected, asking a blind man like me to be your mentor! But I digress," He shrugged. "Very well, I shall teach you to fight. Let us find a more open space." 

Alex let her tension unfold, her shoulders dropping as she nodded. ' _That went better than I thought it would,_ ' She thought to herself as she began trailing behind Cassius' steps like a lost calf, for a split second glancing back to the campsite. Both Steve and Sheep were fast asleep, and Alex hoped that it would stay that way so they wouldn't needlessly be worried about her and Cassius sparring. She knew that Steve was still somewhat distrustful of Cassius, and Steve seeing them fight out of context would probably not be a good look.

"This seems like a good area," Cassius exclaimed once they reached an open flat area of the mountain just a bit ways away from the campsite. They turned to face each other, and bowed as a sign of respect. "Now, I want you momentarily to forget all about your bows, your swords, axes. All that."

"Wait, wha-" Alex began speaking up, but Cassius talked over her and clarified before she could give any more words of confusion. 

"The things you can rely on most accurately in battle are your hands, and most importantly your **senses**. If you don't use your senses in a fight to your advantage you're a dead man walking," The two began to go in a slow circle, sidestepping so that they always faced each other. Then, out of nowhere he rushed forward, Alex trying to defend herself but quickly getting elbowed in the stomach. She stumbled back, losing her footing and falling flat on her butt. "The second lesson, of course, is to keep an even footing. If you're too light on your feet, one wrong move and you could be in danger. Too heavy, and you might be hit with a blow you can't bounce back from." He offered his hand out for her to take.

She took it, but instantly did she pull it back. "Ow!" It felt like the Evokers hand was on fire. She wrung her hand with a wince, looking at her palm and seeing the tiniest darkened mark left on her hand from the initial contact.

"Oh, sorry about that," He held his hand out again, but this time there was an air of shakiness and uncertainty to his body posture, as if he didn't know what he was doing or where he was anymore. Gears slowly began to turn in Alex's head as a question came to her mind; one that she was amazed she hadn't thought of sooner.

"Wait, how do you see?" Alex blurted out as she regained her footing. "Like, how do you walk around and interact with stuff? Since you're blind and all, but you still manage to keep up with everyone else and even outrun us sometimes."

"Well, it's a bit of a long story," Cassius sighed. "I went blind from a very young age. But I eventually learned from my father to use magic to see, as since almost everything has a sort of magical imprint on it. It's like seeing the world through a sea of mist." Cassius held his palms up, and Alex could see the slightest of smoke drifting from them, that he was constantly casting a spell from his hands. Alex felt as if she had uncovered an important secret of Cassius's.

"The best starting pose to take in a battle with either your own hands, a sword or a bow is this one." He took a stance of one leg in front of the other, his arms and hands held up and close to him ready to deliver quick jabs. "It is light enough to run if you need to, but low enough that you're not as vulnerable to getting swept off your feet by an enemy." Alex copied the position to the best of her abilities, only shifting after Cassius offered some advice.

They continued on like this, Cassius showing her moves and stances whilst Alex copied him to the best of her own abilities. She found that as the sun continued to set and the minutes wore into an hour, she slowly began to see some sort of improvement. However, at one point she crossed her arms, looking down at the floor. 

"What's the issue?" Cassius stopped once he saw that Alex wasn't moving with him, but just standing there idly.

"What if I don't improve at all in the long run? With fighting, I mean. I want to get better at it, but at the same time… if I don't then I might not be able to defend myself in the future."

"Don't say that," Cassius shaked his head. "A warrior who admits defeat before the battle even starts is no warrior at all."

"Yeah, but I never was one in the first place. Really, Steve was always the one doing the fighting with mobs and such." She hugged herself around the waist with one hand whilst combing through her fire-red hair with the other. "I just run away a lot, and I really prefer redstone and building to fighting anything. I'm not sure if even now I can learn it."

"Oh, be quiet about it." He nudged her lightly. "I wasn't born a good fighter either, especially not when I first went blind. Everyone treated me and still treats me like a baby because of it, but I learned to use it to my advantage! If I can learn to fight while blind, you certainly can learn to fight now. All the best fighters started out the same way you did."

"Really?" Alex lifted her head up, and her heart repeated the motion inside her chest.

Cassius nodded. "You've got some potential. Now, are we training with bow and arrow, or a weapon like a sword or axe?"

However, as time wore on, their training session was cut short mid-mock battle. As Cassius shot an arrow that landed just a few blocks away from Alex, the Evoker suddenly stopped, sensing someone approaching. Alex stopped too, and she nearly rolled her eyes out of her head as she saw Steve wearing a confused and slightly exasperated expression on his face. She could hear Cassius mutter, "Oh boy, here we go again."

"What the fuck are you two fighting for now!?" He looked between Alex and Cassius, not understanding the reason the two were sparring. "Haven't we all had enough fighting?"

"Steve, you really need to learn how to chill out," Alex's voice dripped with sarcasm.

"Me and Alex were simply having a sparring lesson." Cassius replied calmly, looking in Steve's general direction but still past him. "I was just trying to let her know of some possible techniques that may be of use in the future."

"Fine, but at least tell me before you go fighting like this. Nearly gave me a heart attack…" Steve walked off, heading back towards the camp with a shuffle in his step. He looked embarrassed at having confronted them so sharply for what turned out to be a menial occurrence.

"So, you think we should stop now? Seems like your partner there got himself in a worry about you." When Cassius said that, Alex was thankful that he couldn't see the blush that rose to her cheeks.

"We still have tomorrow to work more on it, right?" When Cassius nodded, she gave a sigh of relief. "Ok then, I think it's good that we rest. Besides," She looked back towards the camp, and a smile came to her face. "I think someone else wants to see you too."

"Cas! _Cassie!_ Why'd ye go?" Sheep's voice rang through the air as they were now jumping up and down on the spot trying to spot the Evoker. When Alex looked towards Cassius, she could see a genuine happy smile appear on his face; a rare occurrence by all means. As they went back to camp, another thought floated through her mind. She needed to ask Steve why he was acting this way. She wasn't sure whether it was just all that had happened, him being tired… or maybe it was something more.

* * *

"Why are you being so overprotective?"

Steve nearly spat out the soup he was drinking, almost dropping the bowl but just barely keeping himself from fumbling it out of his hands and spilling it over himself and the grass. "What??? What do you mean?"

"Don't play dumb, you know what I mean!" She tenderly held the porkchop she was previously eating on her fingertips. "You jumped in ready to defend me at the drop of a helmet, you get all antsy whenever night falls and hostile mobs start spawning. What's the deal with all of it?" She quickly stuffed the last bit of meat into her mouth before crossing her arms as she chewed. 

"Well, uhh…" Steve rubbed the back of his head awkwardly. "I just thought that, since you're not really sure how to fight well," He sighed. "I just don't want to see you get hurt or even killed. You're important to me."

"Steve, come _on!_ I'm my own person you know," She nudged Steve's shoulder playfully. "It's not like my arms are cut off or something. I might not be good at fighting right now, but if Cassius and maybe even you continue to teach me i'm sure I'll be able to pick up on it. Thought," She glanced over to see that Cassius had returned to his previous spot, sleeping peacefully besides Sheep. "I think he might be done for tonight."

"Fine alright, I get it." Steve rolled his eyes, though she could clearly see a blush of embarrassment across his face. In turn, a bashful pink shade adorned her pale skin too. "There's leftover pork chops, if you want them." Alex saw how quickly Steved tried to 180 the conversation, and chalked it up to him being embarrassed at being caught having such caring thoughts about his partner. Alex put it in her mind to return the favor to him sometime in the future. 

"Okay," She giggled, and Steve's flustered blush only deepened. "Tell you what, you take some sleep first. I'll wake you up for your shift when I feel too sleepy."

"Okay, goodnight Alex," He got up, walking over to some carpet he had put down before and laying down on it. Before she knew it he was already fast asleep. 

She rolled her eyes. "Goodnight, Steve," She sat by the last burning logs the flames ate away at, thinking to herself as the stars twinkled brightly above. Only when she was sure that no one would hear her, did she utter in a ghostly whisper the last part of her sentence whilst staring into the embers of the fire. "Love ya."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heyo everyone! Just a heads up I may post a little less frequently because of school starting up again! Thank you for understanding and sorry for the long wait ^^


	10. Skeletons of a Time Past

"I hate the heat so much!" Cassius wouldn't stop whining, his tirade of complaints going on and on as everyone within earshot began to roll their eyes at increasingly common intervals. It had been a week of travel and they had finally reached the jungle that separated them from the plains field where the portal was located. Almost everyone in that group had been able to stand the change in temperature that came with jungle biomes. Except Cassius, that is.

"Cassie, shut _up_!" Sheep pinched Cassius on his forearm, causing him to flinch and yelp sharply. "It isn't even all that hot! Trust me, I know what hot feels like, I've been through plenty of deserts in the midday!"

"Fine, fine I get it! I still don't like it, though!" Alex nearly facepalmed. She was sure at this point that Cassius' ramblings had alerted every hostile mob in the jungle, and if not also in the surrounding biome areas too. But, he was the one leading them to the portal that would cut their journey time in half, so it was a necessary tradeoff. Before they knew it, they were already in the thick of the jungle. They clambered over bushes and low lying trees, using whatever at their disposal to cut away at the thick sheets of vines. Cassius kept mumbling his complaints, tripping constantly over the roots and vines that crisscrossed the ground. _Maybe he can't sense foliage that well,_ She thought. The chirp of parrots echoed around the tall imposing trees and distantly she could hear the sound of a waterfall gushing steadily. Already the humidity and heat of the midday air was too much, as the whole group was beginning to sweat profusely and pull at their clothes.

"Okay Cassius, maybe I did underestimate the heat," Alex tugged at the collar of her armored chestplate, she felt like a piece of mutton cooking away in a furnace. The air was thick and suffocating, like a blanket of wool was being stuffed up her nose and down her throat. 

"You still have the cube with you, right Steve?" At her words he nodded, and the burden of worry on her mind eased up. At least she had the awe-inspiring appearance of the jungle to give her solace. The branches waving in the breeze above made the sunlight dance in fine speckles on the jungle floor. Pigs and sheep grazed off the leaves and watched apprehensively as the group walked by. The crunch of dead leaves and ground was music to Alex's ears…

That is, until she stepped on something much more **squishy**. Stopping, she looked down to see that she was standing on a block of netherrack, and as she shifted her weight from foot to foot it flexed underneath her like jelly.

"Guys, look what I've found!" She ushered them over, stepping off the netherrack block with a loud squelch noise as tiny specks of it stuck to her boots. Now that she was paying more attention to her surroundings than before, she could see netherrack popping out of the landscape at random, dotting the green with its burnt, almost fleshy red and black appearance. 

"Netherrack? That's weird, hav'n't seen that sorta stuff round 'ere before," Sheep voiced out what everyone else was most likely thinking about at that moment. Then, immediately the wandering trader yelled "Birdie!", running ahead a few blocks and stopping near a bush. A deep blue parrot was sitting on it, squawking away to its hearts content. The avian leaned down, nibbing lightly at Sheeps outstretched hand whilst they giggled. Lifting her head, Alex smiled at the sight of it. 

Her eyes widened when the parrot opened its beak and a sound unlike any other she heard before came out of it. It was like the rattle of a skeleton, except much deeper and crispier in a way. It was wrong, unnatural. She was too late to shout a warning to Sheep when suddenly, a Wither Skeleton blackened by the fires of the deep nether burst out from the bushes the parrot was sitting on, causing it to panic and take flight. A soul-ripping screech of pain tore through the air, and before she knew it Sheep was collapsing to the ground, curling in on themself as the Wither Skeleton raised its sword to strike another blow-

 **"NO!"** Alex couldn't even process Cassius' yell before a deep rumble resonated through the air, throwing her and Steve off balance. As she regained her footing, white wisps wielding swords rushed past with high pitched chatterings, the Vexes hitting the wither skeleton with their weapons and causing the mob to fall back and turn its attention onto its ghostly assailants. Alex took the opportunity to run to Sheep, scooping them up into her arms. She was alarmed by how light and bone thin they were, but at least they were slightly easier to carry this way. They were crying, their eyes tightly shut while sobs of terror and pain wracked their body. There was a very good reason for this reaction: the Wither Skeleton's sword had sliced a clean line down one of their arms, and the wound was quickly turning a grisly black. 

There was more to come. No sooner than when Alex picked up Sheep did twenty more Wither Skeletons throw themselves out of the bushes, armed with their own stone swords. "Run!" She knew that they couldn't face all of them at once without gaining serious injuries, so why bother? Steve and her began to run, but when she looked back Cassius was still standing there, facing the skeletons head on. "Come on!"

"I'll buy us time, just go!" Alex wasn't going to stick around any further after Cassius yelled those words back. Despite her hating to leave anyone behind, they had to get to safety, and Cassius could probably handle himself just fine. Even if he was blind by most definitions… but she didn't have time to think of that. Despite Cassius being able to focus most of the Wither Skeleton's efforts onto himself, a few still ran after the larger group. A cave entrance loomed into Steve's vision, and quickly motioning to Alex, they all hurried inside the darkness of the cave, taking refuge whilst some stray wither skeletons rattled outside for a few nail-biting moments. Finally they wandered off, and they could all finally take a breath.

That is, until the drum of what must've been a hundred Wither Skeletons pursuing one target made the ground rumble underneath Alex's feet. _Cassius!_ Carefully setting down Sheep to lean against the wall, she stepped just to the boundaries of the cave, taking a risk and shouting in hopes that the Evoker would hear her. "Cassius! We're down here!" Almost at once Cassius burst through the bushes, his robes covered with leaves and his feet constantly tripping up over every little thing on the ground as a mob of Wither Skeletons ran after him. He didn't run into the cave, more so just fell into it and rolled his body until he came to a stop. Thinking on her feet whilst spotting a precarious patch of floating gravel, Alex aimed a shot with her bow and fired, the arrow loosening the gravel and making it collapse, blocking up the entrance and plunging them into darkness. As Steve quickly crafted up some torches and placed a few on the ground, Alex walked up to the mound of gravel and briefly listened in. The wither skeletons still milled around outside, scratching futilely at the mounds of stones with their dark boney hands to try to find their prey. She suppressed a shiver. 

She had more pressing issues to attend to, after all. "Is everyone ok? Cassius?" Cassius slowly sat up from the cave floor as Alex waited expectedly nearby.

"Yes, i'm ok. _Argh!-_ " He suddenly cringed inward, holding his palms upward in front of him. Alex could now see what was the issue; one of the wither skeletons had cut the palms of his hands, and an inky darkness spread across them. "They slashed my hands open, I can't use my magic while my wounds are withered." 

"Wait, so does that mean-" The severity of the situation was apparent. A totally blind Evoker and a hurt young trader; how much worse could it get than this? 

"Yes." Then, a pause as another question came to Cassius. "Where's Sheep? Are they okay?" Alex looked back, just in time to see Steve attempting to bandage up Sheeps arm whilst they complained.

"Ow, it hurts!" Sheep yelped as the bandage was tightened around their arm, Steve biting off the end of the bandage with his teeth and pinning the end of it down into place. Giving it a couple experimental shakes, Sheep noticed Cassius and Alex kneeling down nearby. "Cassie!" They rushed over and kneeled down by the Evoker, wrapping their arms around him. "Don't scare me! I thought y'were dead!" 

It was heart-crushingly adorable to Alex when Cassius hugged Sheep back tightly, whispering to them in a small voice. "I thought the skeletons hurt you badly, don't do that to me again." Whilst the others were occupied, Steve stood up with a torch in hand, peering down into the tunnel that seemed to expand downward into darkness eternally. 

"Lets see where this tunnel leads. We can't stay here forever." Steve motioned with a wave of his hand for the others to follow. Sheep hastily was getting up, tugging Cassius' wrist to make him stand too. They all went down into the depths, circling deeper and deeper into the cave system. The grey dampness of the walls made the torch Steve held cast eerie orange glows over the grey surfaces. Stalactites hung from the ceiling, slowly dripping moisture from their tips onto the floor with steady plinks. Odd noises seemed to emanate from the dark crevices of the winding cavern, which only served to put everyone on even more of an edge.

There was a hollow thunk of something hitting stone, and then an immediate,"Ow!" Briefly glancing behind her, Alex saw Cassius rubbing his forehead, muttering things to himself whilst sidestepping a stalactite that was hanging just a bit too low. "I hate being without my magic…"

"Sorry!" Alex assumed that Sheep was the one leading Cassius around the cave, judging by his echoey stuttered apology. The sounds of the depths were amplified by the caves hollow, rounded walls: flowing water and lava, the groaning of zombies and the rattling of skeletons, a low howling wind that somehow always seemed to be present. It was always the same experience with caves everytime, having to face the unknown head-on.

"Wait, look at this." Steve held up the torch to a cave wall they were just about to pass. Stopping in her tracks, Alex approached the wall. Only then, did the scrawlings on the wall reveal themselves to her. Chipped out of the stone and painted on were crude, yet somehow still detailed scenes of the Nether, End, and Overwrold all intertwined with each other, working in harmony and exchanging energy in matrimony. There was so much to look at, but so little time to do so. 

"Uh huh, impressive." Cassius's voice was so full of sarcasm that Alex couldn't help but give a disapproving groan, shaking her head slowly. Glancing behind her, she was met with Cassius leaning down and Sheep whispering to him, probably describing what the inscriptions on the wall looked like. 

"Now's not the time." Then, slowly as she stared at the runes and illustrations, did a thought occur to her. "Wait, I have an idea. Steve, you have the Nether Reactor still with you right?" Soon she was given the cube, and she held it as if it would shatter in her hands at any moment. She held it up near the drawings on the wall, and suddenly a glowing angry red cracked through the stone with a boom, changing the symbols of harmony into a picture of the Nethers roots overtaking the End and Overworld, consuming it into its own domain. Terror gripped at her heart as she mumbled, "That's not good." Closing her eyes and taking a deep breath, she soon steeled herself and focused on the one objective in mind: getting out of the cave system. If they were to save the world from the eventual takeover of the Nether, they had to get there quickly. "Let's go, we have no time," She turned to the others, gaining approving nods before she stashed the Nether Reactor away in her own inventory. 

The caves seemed to go on forever. Alex and Steve were constantly on the lookout for ways to go upwards, and although they were mostly able to get by without mining and just by fighting many, many hostile mobs, at one point the cave system came to a dead end. Steve sighed, soon making a crafting table, and then a stone pickaxe. "Let's make our way up to the surface, follow me."

The staircase that Steve carved out was a long and arduous journey. But Alex couldn't be more happy as stone turned to dirt, and soon sunlight broke out into their vision. As soon as the group crawled out, they all decided to lay down on the grass for a bit.

"I'll never take the outdoors for granted again," Cassius rolled on the ground gleefully.

"Tell me about it." Steve huffed, grabbing fistfuls of the grass underneath him. From what it seemed they had dug themselves into a more hilly plains-like biome, tall grass and all. It was a welcome change of scenery at least.

"Um, y'all? I don't think y'all'll like to see this…" Alex sat up at Sheep's voice to see them sitting at the ledge, pointing outwards. Only when she got closer did she see the problem. The Nether hsd already claimed a vast area stretching out from its epicenter, the ground netherrack and the trees now giant twisting fungi. She could see now, at the very center of the chaos, there it was: the portal, just a black speck in the distance. It brought hope, seeing it even from afar.

Alex looked to the others. "Well, if we came this far, we can't give up now. Just a little further."


	11. The Portal

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So uhh, hey yall, im not dead entirely sksbskhs  
> School has been a mega-bitch to me, but hopefully maybe I can squeeze out a couple more chapters before the school year ends for me lmao
> 
> I know this is a short chapter, but just bare with me while i get back into the swing of things

Alex was sure she was never going to be able to smell after this whole adventure. At least, smell anything but burning netherrack (which had the smell of meat left on a fire for far too long) and the faint hint of cooked mushrooms. There was not even a hint of cold, as every time the group passed a pit of lava, she sweat just a bit more under all her armor. 

"Im never gonna be able ta' eat mushroom soup ever again!" Sheep's voice rang out in a childish complaint as they kept picking at their robe and lifting it away from their skin only for the fabric to plaster itself back on from sweat. Despite the broiling heat that rolled over the area like a thick fog, Sheep didn't take off their many layers of blue cloth signature of almost all wandering traders.

"Oh, can you quit whining so much? We're almost there, I can sense it even now." When Cassius held out his hands to cast magic, Alex noticed the fresh scar left over from the previously-withered wound. "We just have to go a little bit further.

"Fiiine." Alex could tell that Sheep wasn't too happy about this, but they kept their mouth shut nevertheless. 

"Cassius, I hope that you damn well know your way to this portal, else-" Steve took a moment to gasp for a breath of fresh air, the smoke drifting off from the lava pools and ashy remains of the previous forest was almost toxic. Sweat poured off his skin in buckets, though it wasn't apparent as he was in his armor. "Else there's gonna be more problems than just the heat."

"Would you like some pie with your whine, you ungrateful bastards?" Cassius leered, but it was more of a playful jab than anything too serious. "Lighten up a bit, literally. You're all cooking yourself alive in your own armor."

Rolling their eyes, both Alex and Steve heeded Cassius' words and took off separate pieces of their own armor, Steve taking off his armored legging whilst Alex removed her helmet and chestplate. Even then they found the heat still slowly crawled up their backs like a gnawing animal, slowly wearing down their morale as they walked on.

"There it is!" Sheep's voice cut through the air like a diamond blade passing through cake. Now alert, Alex lifted up her head, her gaze landing upon the thing that all of them have been searching for weeks. A nether portal sitting in the middle of the wasteland, it's smooth black obsidian frame oh so inviting. The film of purple mist that sat inside its confines pulsed and shimmered, swirling around as if it had a mind of its own. 

A moment of silence was held between all of them as they approached the portal. From it emanated a steady roar like a wave crashing against the shore, the surface of the portal almost pulsing with power. Somehow the air immediately around the portal's radius was cooler, as if the magical powers of the portal kept the hellscape of the surroundings at bay. Sheeps hand reached out in an intent to touch the interdimensional gateway, and-

"Stop!" 

Confusion was immediately apparent upon Sheeps face as they were yanked backwards by Alex, almost toppling onto their back. "Hey, what was tha' for!?" 

"We need to do some things first. Anyone have some water? In that case, you better drink or share with others. From what the stories say, as soon as we go in there, any sort of water by itself will instantly disappear. Also, we definitely need our weapons and some blocks at the ready, if worst comes to worst."

Sheep meekly pulled out a few bottles of water from their many pockets, and Steve followed suit, having realized there were a few in his own inventory. Before long the bottles were empty and cast to the ground, the whole group feeling refreshed for the first time in quite a while. 

Readying her bow, she slowly approached the portal once more. Looking back to the others, they all exchanged nods and a solemn look (aside from Cassius, of course) that indicated they were all ready to brave whatever unknown horrors were on the other end. Taking a deep breath, Alex stepped into the portal, letting the sea of purple envelope her whole.


	12. A Terrible Fortress

To say going through the portal was a nauseating experience would be an understatement to how Alex truly felt. All her vision, for what was both no time at all and eternity, was a bright hue of purple, a ghastly roar in her ears as it felt like sandpaper was being dragged along every part of her skin. It was excruciating, having to endure through it. At one point, she wondered if somehow she got stuck, and was just doomed to an eternal hell of her own creation.

It didn't get any worse when she finally entered the Nether. Immediately getting tossed away from the portal's surface in a violent manner, she was thrown down onto the soft netherrack floor, her body making an indent as the hard thump of her hitting the ground rang out. Groaning and slowly propping her head up on her hand, she heard the others come out the portal to similar fates like her own. She opened her eyes, and at first all she could see was blurry darkness and some splashes of different fuzzy color blotches. However, after a few seconds she became adjusted to the stark darkness of the Nether, looking to the side to see Steve had fallen on his back right beside her.

"Are we all good? All limbs intact?" She sat up, looking around to see Sheep and Cassius getting up from their fall. Getting up herself, she offered a hand to Steve, who was still reeling from the intra-dimensional journey. Now that everyone was on their feet, Alex could finally assess their surroundings. The air was hot and dry, dark flecks of ash that could be seen with the naked eye floating through the air. They seemed to be situated in a flat area of netherrack and low gravel mounds, and off in the distance she could see a forest of blue, where odd gooey mushrooms several times taller then she was dripped a cyan substance and enderman lurked in the dark corners. However, immediately around them were groups of pig-like figures, rotted but still alive. They communicated amongst each other with half-broken, distorted squeals that grated on the eardrums. Alex concluded they must've been like the zombies of the nether, perhaps a bit more friendly seeing as they were not paid much mind to as foreigners in the dimension.

"Look, it likes me!" Alex quickly turned her head to see Sheep face to face with a baby zombie pigman, petting the top of its diseased head as it let out little snorts of glee from the attention. As Sheep giggled, Alex attempted to bring attention back to the main subject at hand. 

"Cassius, you said you did know how to navigate the nether path to the other portal out, right? You better have not brought us here for nothing." 

"Relax, good Jeb. Humans…" Cassius seemed exasperated, though his tone was light. "I went through here once, as a young child. It's been quite a while, but luckily I remember the path I took, or at least the magical cues I need to follow. The blue where the enderman reside, the crimson, the most terrible of fortresses, and the soul valley. That's the order of places we need to cross so that we find the portal. I can lead the way, i'm sure of it."

"Ok, lead the way then!" And so, began their journey into the Nether. Alex had to admit, the Nether held an odd beauty in its alien strangeness. It was hostile, certainly, but at the same time she was sure that if it wasn't dangerous to her life and journey to be here, that she could've found many ways to appreciate the views.

As they crossed the threshold into the warped biome, the sky transitioned into a muted blue, and instead of ash blueish spores now danced in the slight wind that permeated the place. The netherrack floor was covered with tinier blue and orange mushrooms that felt soft to the touch. Alex almost drew a comparison in her head to what the grass in the overworld felt like. The only real intimidation factor came when they had to move amongst the Endermen, who claimed this forest as their home. Their warped calls and the way they stood in the shadows of the larger mushrooms made Alex's hair stand on end.

"Can I keep this?" She heard Sheep ask Steve something, and when she turned her head to look behind her for a brief second, she saw that Sheep had plucked one of the bigger mushrooms from the floor. The blue and orange speckles on it glowed as it released large, chunky spores from itself.

"As long as you don't try to eat it or inhale it, Sheep." Hearing Sheeps elation after Steve's somewhat approval of them keeping the mushroom had a smile flash on Alexs' face, if just briefly. However, they had bigger problems to deal with.

The Crimson was coming up. Almost separated by a line, the blue and red mushroom floor clashed together, as if fighting for dominance over the landscape. The forest itself looked similar to the blue one they were in before, with the key change of everything being a deep shade of scarlet. Worse yet, Alex could see no mobs at first glance. It either meant that they were not in danger, or in a lot of danger that she still couldn't yet prepare for.

There was an audible crackle in the air as they began traversing the crimson. Somehow, the air was hotter in this biome, maybe even noxious from how stifling it was in comparison to the blue forest they were in just a minute before.

"Cassius, you _do_ know where we're going, right?" She just wanted to make sure. She wasn't certain if she could completely trust the word of the blind Evoker to lead the way, considering he was, well, blind and all that.

"Calm down, I know where we're at right now. Judging by what I sense, we're in the crimson forest and roughly heading in the right direction. So don't get your carpet all up in a twist about it." 

Yet, even after Cassius' words, Alex still felt tense and nervous about the whole ordeal. The low hum of the air didn't help to ease her tension about the situation, either.

Her worst fear was confirmed when in front of them from the shadows stepped out a beast she had never seen before. It was like a pig, but yet twisted: its body hulking with muscle mass that made it comparable to the size of a horse. Down its back was stringy dark hair that contrasted its pale leathery skin. Its eyes were a dead, milky white, somewhat similar to Cassius but still holding malice and a brutal intent within them. From its mouth sprouted two long, sharp tusks that were yellowed with age. Sniffing the air, it squealed and thundered towards them, footfalls shaking the ground.

Cassius backed away suddenly as Alex drew her bow, firing it so that the arrow stuck into the monster's head. It roared in a high pitched yell of pain, yet it still advanced at a frightening rate. They were all bracing to fight when suddenly perhaps the most strange part of the encounter happened. Just a few steps away, the creatures stopped. It snorted and squealed in discomfort and anger and tried to approach closer, however it almost seemed like a barrier was put between it and it's victims. None of them had an explanation for the sudden strange behavior, that is until Sheep approached the beast with mushroom in hand, and in turn it kept backing away. Eventually it turned away and ran off, an arrow still stuck in its head as it decided that its prey wasn't worth the risk anymore.

"The mushroom must be it! They must not like the spores on it or something," Steve concluded. They made it so that Sheep walked alongside Cassius, which seemed fine by the Trader, mostly because they had the chance to talk to Cassius more. Alex and Steve trailed behind, but not too far in case any more dastardly hogs came to cause more trouble.

"Alex, have you noticed anything strange?"

"Hmm? No, not really. What is it?" Alex kept a watch on the landscape while Steve responded.

"I don't know, it just feels like we're being watched somehow. Not by whatever those pig things are but by something else…" When Alex glanced back to Steve, she noticed how antsy he seemed to be, as he fidgeted with the handle of the axe he carried on him.

"Come on, I'm sure it's nothing." Just as those words slipped out of her mouth, she saw something out of the corner of her eye. It appeared close to one of those zombie pigmen they all had seen when they first went through the portal, but different. Its eyes were a bright white and its skin was intact, with no signs of rotting or infection. However as soon as she turned her head and squinted to get a closer look, it was gone, disappearing into the looming cover given by the forest. The creeping of goosebumps began on her back and made its way down her body, her heart picking up the pace.

 _"Nevermind,"_ She muttered, in such a small voice that no one but her picked it up. She now couldn't shake the feeling of eyes watching them as well, even if after that there wasn't too much noticeable.

The fortress came up almost out of nowhere: at one moment they were approaching the edge of the crimson, and the next she was peering up one of the supports of the large structure. Touching the bricks, she found them cool to the touch despite the air being hot from lava. 

"I remember there being a staircase up to the fortress. I'm not sure exactly where though…" Cassius muttered. Almost instantly Steve and Alex were alert and searching for a way to scale the fortress. Worst comes to worst and they would need to make their own. Luckily it didn't come to that.

"Found it!" Steve shouted. Quickly the others followed, over to a makeshift staircase devised out of cobble and dirt that had long since been abandoned, judging by how mushrooms were beginning to grow on it. Carefully they made their way up, Alex wincing at the rickety-ness of it as it bent slightly under their weight. Nevertheless, before they knew it they were in the fortress, or at least part of it. The bricks felt slippery under their feet, and when Steve touched one of the railings a layer of dark ash was smeared onto his palm. He made a face of disgust at the sight of it and wiped it off onto his pants.

"I hate this," Cassius complained out loud. "The whole ground is shaky, it feels like i'm going to fall." 

Alex couldn't imagine how it must've felt for Cassius at that time: being blind and wandering through an unfamiliar landscape without perhaps one of the most crucial senses of them all. She pitied him in this scenario, yet she didn't let him know about it. She knew that he was far too prideful for that.

"Aren't there supposed to be Wither Skeletons here?" Alex commented after a few minutes of traversing the fortress. She was true: usually a fortress would be crawling with the darkened undead, their bones burnt to a blackened crisp and wielding a stone sword. Yet, the place was empty as a ghost town, not a single mob in sight. There weren't even the friendly zombie pigmen that previously were wandering around in the vast open areas of the Nether. All that was left was the eerie ambience, the deep crackles and faraway chiming.

"You're right…" Steve mumbled. Now, as they walked into a dark tunnel boring its way through the netherrack, all of them were made aware of the strange sounds above and around them, the numerous footfalls and squishing of netherrack. Then, Alex heard a hard crunch under her boots, and looked down to see the remains of a wither skeleton, its bones strewn out across the landscape and its head missing. In fact, as she focused a bit more she realized that there were many, _many_ skeletal bodies. Additionally, the fact that they hadn't disintegrated yet was an added layer of worry.

By now Alex's heart was racing. She turned to the other, sweating bullets. "These are fresh kills. Someone was here before us, and judging by this," She swallowed harshly." They're still here."

It was then that the foe, or more accurately foes, who had been stalking the group showed themselves. From where they had entered the tunnel, rushed in a group of pig people, wielding gold swords and taut crossbows. Their war cries echoed around the enclosed hallway, striking fear and panic.

"RUN!" Alex and the others didn't need to be told twice by Sheep for their legs to kick into high gear and run the opposite way. More wither skeleton bones crunched under their feet as they made a mad dash for the end of the tunnel. Arrows flew past, lodging in the netherrack and bricks. The piglins definitely weren't good shots, but they far outnumbered the overworld foreigners they hunted.

They were in for a world of hurt when they reached the end. There was an overhang of netherrack at the exit, and once the group rushed out they were ambushed from above by more piglins. Alex was immediately dropkicked in the back by two solid hooves, and her vision exploded into three separate layers, swirling around and dancing against each other like panicking bees in a glass cage as all the air was pushed out of her lungs and she collapsed to the floor. Trying weakly to get up, she gave up as she was pinned down to the floor by a hoof squarely placed down on her back. She could hear the others struggling and trying to fight off the other piglins, yet getting subdued one by one.

"Emperor Svinven is gonna **love** to see what we got right here," Alex heard one of the piglins announce, most of them immediately bursting out into a series of squealing chuckles and snorts. With this, Alex realized; There was no way this precarious situation was going to turn out in their favor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you all enjoyed the chapter ^^ i dont know when im going to update next, but hopefully soon!


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